


Suave

by JenSurname



Series: Suaveness [1]
Category: Orange is the New Black
Genre: F/F, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Old Friendships, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 08:21:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 38,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5156792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenSurname/pseuds/JenSurname
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Fluff fest. No drugs, no Litchfield, just life. Vauseman, so gets decidedly M in later chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

Piper sat in a booth along the side wall of the bar, absently turning her glass around and around on the table as she half-watched a baseball game on one of the TV screens. Every time the door opened, her eyes flicked in that direction before drifting back to the TV again. She checked the display on her phone, no messages, so placed it face down on the table. She'd been waiting for forty minutes now.

She gestured to the waitress as she passed the table and ordered another glass of wine. It was delivered a couple of minutes later by a different waitress, with a shot of something amber and a smirk.

“I didn't…” Piper started.

“It's on me. You look like you need it, kid.”

With a wink, the waitress moved away again and headed back towards the bar.

Piper looked at the shot, then at the woman who had resumed her position behind the counter. She smiled a little when the woman caught her eye, poured another shot and raised it in Piper's direction before knocking it back. She grimaced, then smiled at Piper and raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

Piper shook her head slightly, then grinned and lifted the shot glass from the table. She held the other woman's eye as she moved the glass to her lips, then tilted her head back and drank the amber liquid.

As soon as it hit her throat, Piper realised this wasn't such a great idea. The warmth of the liquid spread through her instantly, but the majority of the heat seemed to be centred on one particular spot at the back of her throat. She slammed the glass down and as soon as it hit the table she started coughing. She covered her mouth with her fist and thought she might be about to cough a lung up onto the table, she felt tears spill from her eyes and wiped at them with the heel of her hand as the coughing finally subsided.

Two napkins and a glass of water were placed on the table in front of her by a waitress and Piper just about managed to croak out a thank you.

“Boss says to tell you you're a lightweight,” the waitress smiled.

Piper dabbed at her eyes with one of the napkins and glanced back over towards the bar, where the woman – the boss, apparently – was grinning madly whilst preparing a cocktail for another customer.

“What _was_ that stuff?” Piper asked, taking a sip of water.

“Firewater, hon. Tequila, one hundred per cent blue agave, not one we usually serve.”

“Please tell your boss thank you, but I think I'll stick with wine from now on,” Piper smiled.

“Gotcha,” the waitress replied, flashing her a quick smile as she moved away again, taking the empty shot glass with her.

Piper picked up her phone from the table and glanced at the display again. Still blank. Still no messages. She'd now been sitting here for almost fifty minutes. She'd give it a round hour, then she'd leave, she decided. Her eyes drifted back to the ball game on TV, but within seconds she found she was watching the woman moving confidently behind the bar instead.

She was tall, just a little taller than Piper, and had long slightly curled black hair that fell past her shoulders and ended with cerulean tips. Her features were angular, her make up perfect but understated, and she wore a pair of black framed glasses that wouldn't have looked out of place on a librarian. She moved around behind the bar with an air of confidence, mixing drinks and serving customers with a practised ease.

She glanced over at Piper, who looked away quickly, a little embarrassed that she'd been caught watching. She busied herself rummaging for absolutely nothing at all in her handbag, then drained her wine, steadfastly keeping her eyes away from the woman behind the bar. She caught the eye of a passing waitress and, deciding she'd waited long enough, asked for the bill.

It arrived in a long leather wallet a couple of minutes later. Piper reached for her purse, then flipped open the wallet. Inside, instead of a bill, she found a business card in the name of _Alex Vause._ It described her as _Proprietor_ of _Suave_ , the bar she was currently in, and the contact details of the bar itself. She picked up the card and turned it between her fingers, finding a message neatly printed on the reverse.

_This is on the house, Lightweight._  
_Whoever stood you up needs to be_  
_institutionalised. Clearly insane._  
_Call me.  
_ _A. x_

Then a number, a mobile number, not the one pre-printed on the front face of the card.

Piper looked over to the bar, but found a different woman now mixing drinks. This one was loud, laughing with customers, wild haired and shorter than the other woman – _Alex –_ who was now nowhere to be seen.

She re-read the message on the reverse of the card, then slipped it into her purse. She collected her phone and handbag and left the bar, allowing herself a small smile as she walked toward the door.

In her private office behind the bar, Alex sat back in her chair, fingers steepled and touching her chin as she studied the CCTV. She watched as _Lightweight_ received her “bill”, read the card and looked around, then slid it into her purse. She continued to watch as the blonde made her way to the exit and then smiled when she saw that the other woman couldn't quite hide a smile herself.

“Gotcha,” she murmured.

 

* * *

 

Piper removed, read and replaced the business card no less than four times on her short journey home in the taxi. Every time she read it, she smiled a little bit more.

When she got home to her apartment, she kicked off her shoes, hung her coat and checked the messages on her answering machine. There were three messages.

First: _Piper? Piper it's me. Are you there? Pick up. Pick up pick up pick up! Godammit, Piper, please don't tell me you've left already…_

That was Polly. Best friend since college, former roommate, total flake.

Second: _Piper. God. Where the fuck are you? You seriously can't have left already. I'm not gonna make it tonight. I've had the most hideous day at work, now they need me to stay over and I can't get out of it. I know, I know… I'm sorry okay? I'll make it up to you. I promise._

Piper sighed. So this is why she'd waited an hour in the bar. Alone. Looking like she'd been stood up.

Third: _Did I tell you my day was hideous? So fucking hideous. I can't even tell you. Then the intern – you know, the one with the_ _teeth_ _and_ _godawful taste in sweaters_ _– knocked my fucking phone off the desk and then STOOD ON IT. Like he was just making sure it was well and truly broken. Dipshit. So, yeah, hideous. Also why I'm calling you at home and not on your cell – this is the only number I can remember and everything else is in my cell. Or former cell. Totes broken. Totes gonna kill him. So sorry babe. I hope to fuck you're not sitting in the bar on your own waiting for me. Call me when you get this!_

Piper couldn't help smiling at this one. The intern with the godawful taste in sweaters was straight out of college, seriously lacking in socials skills, and harbouring a crush on her best friend that everyone in the world could see. Killing Polly's phone was not the best way to ingratiate himself with her and Piper almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost.

She moved into the kitchen and heated up last night's leftover pasta, then retreated to the loungeroom again where she flicked on the TV and ate dinner whilst watching the end of the ballgame. The same game that had been on in the bar. _Suave_. The bar with the firewater tequila and the hot proprietor.

Wait, hot?

Piper shook her head as if to dislodge this thought and grabbed her phone. Distraction was needed and Polly was sure to provide it. She called her friend at work and it was answered before it had even rang out once.

“Harper, yes?”

“Oh hi,” Piper started, using an angelic voice. “Is that Polly Harper, maker of dinner plans, total flake and beater of besotted interns?”

“Piper! Where the fuck have you been? I called you like two hours ago!”

“Where do you think I've been, Pol? I've been sitting in _Suave_ , on my own, for a full hour waiting for you. Cradling two glasses of wine and looking for all the world like I've been stood up. Thanks for that!”

“Ohmygod. I'm so sorry. I tried to call you! I called three times.”

“I noticed.” A deliberate pause. “ _After_ I got home.”

“I couldn't remember your cell number! I probably wouldn't have even remembered your home number if it wasn't so similar to mine. Although, honestly, I'll admit I called myself at home twice before I got yours right.”

“You didn't think of maybe calling the bar?”

There was a silence on the line. Clearly this option hadn't occurred to Polly until this very moment. When Piper suggested it.

“Fuck it.” Polly muttered. “I'm sorry.”

Piper smiled. They'd been friends for too long for things like this to be an unusual occurrence and Piper had long ago realised there was no point being angry with Polly. Shit like this happened to her. It happened all the time. She was just one of those people to whom misfortune seemed attracted.

“How's the phone?”

“Dead.”

“How's the intern?

“Dying. Slowly.”

Piper laughed. “Go easy on him. He just gets flustered whenever you're near because he's so in looooove with you.”

“Go easy on him? He broke my cell! He coulda killed my puppy and I'd be less forgiving.”

“You don't have a puppy!”

“I don't have a cell now, either.”

“Point.”

“I thought so.”

“Are you working tomorrow?”

“At this rate, I'm gonna be working all through tonight, all of tomorrow and all of tomorrow night too. Deadlines. I hate 'em.”

“Rain check?”

“Rain check. I really am sorry, Pipe. I'll make it up to you.”

“You'd better. Leaving me alone in a bar like a sad lonely spinster.”

“ _Spinster_? Who the fuck even uses that word any more? Who are you, Jane Austen?”

Piper grinned. “Like you ever read any Jane Austen.”

“Shut up. I know who she is. Anyway, I'll bet you weren't alone for long. Tell me, just how many times did you get hit on while you waited for me?”

“None.” Piper replied immediately, but even as she did she felt colour rising up her cheeks.

“I call bullshit.”

“You can call whatever you want, just not my cell phone when I need you to, apparently.”

Polly laughed. “I gotta go, babe. I'll call you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. So you say.”

“Shut up!”

“See ya, Pol. Don't work the intern too hard.”

“I'll work him to death and he'll enjoy it, believe me. See ya.”

Piper smiled as she ended the call. Her relationship with Polly was easy, uncomplicated and never, ever dull. They'd met in their first year at Smith, randomly assigned a dormitory room together, and had been inseparable ever since.

They'd supported each other through college, through relationship crises, through family funerals, through catastrophic one-night-stands, through drunken parties and failed exams and family Christmases and terrible boyfriends (and even a terrible girlfriend on one occasion for Piper), through job interviews and doctors appointments and, well, life. Piper was a firm believer in everything happening for a reason and her assignment to a dorm room with Polly Harper on that first day at Smith had certainly proven to be beneficial time and time again.

She washed her plate from dinner, ran herself a bath, poured herself a glass of wine and took both the wine and her book into the bathroom where she remained, soaking and reading and unwinding from the stresses of the day until the water started to go cold and the skin on her toes turned soft and white and wrinkled.

Piper brushed her teeth then changed into her pyjamas. She plugged in her phone to charge overnight and left it on the drawers next to her bed, got herself a glass of water, went through her usual routine of turning things off and locking up, then slid into bed. She lay on her right side, covers pulled up to her chin, just her right hand peeking out and holding her book. She lay reading by the light of her bedside lamp, a trashy romance novel she'd picked up in a second-hand bookstore a week ago on a whim. She wasn't enjoying the story, but was too stubborn to quit it now she'd started, so was trying to read it as fast as she could just so it could be over with.

“ _..._ _she watched him approach in the darkness, silhouetted by the silverly moon that_ _hung_ _low in the sky. She'd recognise him anywhere, his masculine physique, his air of confidence, the slight swagger in his gait. He was achingly handsome, suave, debonair, slightly greying at the temples and..._ ”

Wait a second. Suave?

She re-read the same few sentences again, then got it. Like a penny dropping. A slow grin spread across her face and she kicked off the covers, hurrying through into the loungeroom again where she grabbed her handbag, found her purse and pulled out the business card.

She read it in the half-light, then carried it through into the bedroom where, perched on the edge of her bed, she read it again and smiled.

_Suave._

She read the message on the back of the card, slipped back under the covers and reached for her phone. Biting her lip, she composed a text message.

_Suave. An anagram of your own name.  
_ _Isn't that a little pretentious?_

She hesitated, considering whether or not to sign the message, then decided against it and hit 'send'.

She placed the phone back on the bedside table, turned off the lamp, lay down again and the phone vibrated. She reached for it in the dark and read the message on her screen.

_Choking on a $300 shot of tequila.  
_ _Isn't that a little ungrateful?_

Piper damn near choked again when she saw the price of the tequila. She quickly replied.

_I didn't know it was $300!!_

The response came immediately.

_I didn't know you were a lightweight, Lightweight._

Piper smiled and was considering her reply when her phone lit up again.

_Do you have a name, Lightweight, or must I continue to call you Lightweight when I take you to dinner tomorrow?_

Piper raised an eyebrow when she read the message, but couldn't suppress a smile.

_Presumptuous._

The screen lit up again almost immediately.

_Unusual. I like it._  
_Hello Presumptuous, I'm Alex.  
_ _Dinner?_

Piper laughed out loud when she read the message and replied a few seconds later.

_My name is Piper. (No really, it is.)  
_ _Hello, Alex. Thank you for the drinks tonight._

A couple of minutes passed until the next reply came. Piper spent those two minutes reading and re-reading their exchanges so far.

_You're welcome. I gotta run, Piper – work._  
_Come by the bar tomorrow. 8pm.  
_ _I guarantee you won't be stood up. x_

Piper didn't reply to this message until the following morning, but she fell asleep that night holding her phone and with a smile on her face.

 


	2. 2

Piper arrived home from work a little after five o'clock. She kicked off her shoes, dumped her satchel on the chair, hung her coat and flopped onto the couch. She rested her head back and let out a long, slow breath.

She was working as a substitute teacher at an elementary school that was only half an hour away from her apartment. When she'd been given the gig, she'd been thrilled. Now, just two weeks later, she was beginning to realise just what it was that had forced Mrs Fischer, the regular teacher, into some extended sick leave. The woman had clearly earned that down time if she'd spent the last six months trying to control that bunch of prepubescent demons. Twenty kids, not a one of them over the age of nine, were slowly sapping her of her will to live.

Piper was seriously considering making contact with the agency who had placed her in the school and telling them this was going to be her last week. She didn't think she could face much more. Working as a regular teacher gave her the opportunity to _learn_ the kids in her class, to discover how they worked best, which teaching style they responded to and how they interacted. It was a tough ask to walk into an already established group of unknown children and be expected to get the best out of them in such a short period of time. The effort was taking its toll on her.

She was jolted from her thoughts a moment later by the vibration of her phone in her hip pocket. She pulled it out and glanced at the screen and found her lips curving into a smile at the sight of Alex's name at the top of the message.

_Hey Lightweight. Mexican,  
_ _Italian or Vietnamese?_

Dinner. She glanced at her watch and realised she should probably make a move. She still had time for a run before she needed to get ready to meet Alex at _Suave_ and knew that running would help her to clear her mind so she didn't turn up for her date preoccupied and stressed. She headed into the bedroom, changed into her shorts and vest then moved back to the couch to put on her running shoes.

It was only as she was tying them that the thought occurred to her.

_Date_?

 

* * *

 

Alex stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom, carefully applying her make-up. Her hair was tied up in a loose ponytail and she hummed quietly to herself as she continued to get ready. When she moved back into her bedroom she checked her phone to see if Piper had replied to her text asking where she preferred to go for dinner.

A message waited on the screen. Two words: _Surprise me._

Alex's lips twitched into the start of a smile, she thought for a moment then murmured _“You got it, kid”_ before crossing to the wardrobe and picking out something to wear. She decided on a pair of black tight fitting jeans that hugged in all the right places and a plain black cotton shirt. She sat on the edge of the bed as she carefully rolled the sleeves of the shirt to just below the elbow, then put on her watch. She touched a dab of _Christian Dior_ behind each ear, then let her hair down from the messy ponytail. She spent a few minutes styling her hair; there was a definite skill in styling hair to make it look _un_ styled and Alex wasn't quite sure when she'd fallen into the trap of _giving a shit_ about this stuff. She slipped her glasses on, checked her appearance in the full length mirror then grabbed her dark grey woollen pea coat and headed for the bar.

She arrived after a brisk ten minute walk, pushing through the heavy doors of _Suave_ at 7:25pm. She cast an eye around the place, pleased to see that the bar was already busy as the early evening, post-work crowd lingered. She moved towards the counter, nodding a hello to a couple of waitresses as she passed. Nicky was in charge tonight and the wild-haired woman paused in the middle of mixing a cocktail as she watched her boss approach.

Alex lifted her chin in greeting. Nicky watched her curiously.

“Well well well,” was all Nicky said, as Alex reached her.

“What?”

“Who's the lucky lady?”

Alex was a little taken aback, but covered it well, displaying confusion instead. “Huh?”

“Don't give me that, Vause. I know you, remember.”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Alex replied, moving to pass behind Nicky and head to her office.

Nicky reached out and grabbed the arm of Alex's coat, stopping her. Maintaining her grip on her arm, she leaned in as if to speak quietly in Alex's ear. Instead, she inhaled deeply.

Grinning, she released Alex's arm and stepped away. “ _Dior_. Not your usual _Calvin Klein_. Also, you have something weird going on with your hair. And the good coat, instead of the leather jacket. You have so many tells, Vause. Don't take up poker, yeah?”

Alex pulled her arm away, muttering “Fuck you, Nichols” and continued into her office, the sound of Nicky's laughter trailing in her wake.

 

* * *

 

Piper entered _Suave_ at five minutes to eight. She looked around the bar quickly, before moving towards the counter and taking a seat on one of the tall stools there. She wore a simple, deep blue halter neck dress that fell to her knee, a heavy black double breasted trench coat hanging open over it. Her blonde hair hung in soft curls and her makeup was subtle.

Nicky saw her the moment she entered the bar and watched her as she approached the counter, noting the nervous glances as she made her way to the counter. She continued completing the order for one of the waitresses, then moved to the end of the bar to serve Piper.

She rested against the countertop, both palms planted on the smooth granite surface, leaning towards Piper slightly.

“What can I get you, beautiful?” she asked, flirting unashamedly.

Before Piper could reply, a bottle of _Jose Cuervo 250 Aniversario_ tequila was slid across the countertop and two shot glasses were placed beside it.

“I got this, Nichols.” Alex's voice was low as she appeared beside her.

Nicky let her head drop low between her shoulders and laughed quietly, shaking her head.

“Of course you do, Vause. Of fucking course.”

She lifted her head and grinned at her boss, then pushed herself off the bar and backed away, giving Piper a not-so-subtle wink as she did.

Alex watched Piper watching Nicky throughout this brief exchange, then moved around the bar and slid onto the stool beside her.

“So,” she started. “Piper, hi.”

They way she said her name made Piper look at her. It was if she were tasting the syllables, trying them out for the first time. She turned a little in her seat and offered Alex a small smile. “Hi.”

Alex reached for the bottle of tequila and carefully poured a shot into each of the glasses. “Don't mind Nicky,” she said as she poured. “We go way back and she's always been a sucker for a pretty face.”

Piper felt colour rise to her cheeks at the compliment but said nothing, instead looking at the small glass of amber liquid that Alex slid in front of her.

“Is that…?” her voice trailed off.

“Your chance to redeem yourself, yes.” Alex smiled.

Piper laughed softly.

“Do I get salt and lime this time?”

“The lime is to cut the liquor. This is the kind of liquor that doesn't need cutting. That would be bordering on sacrilegious.”

Piper wasn't sure if Alex was serious or not, but she didn't produce any lime.

“And if I choke?”

“You won't.”

“I won't?”

Alex shook her head. “I have confidence in you, kid. You won't let me down.”

Piper looked back at the small glass on the bar in front of her. She had absolutely no idea why it suddenly felt incredibly important not to let Alex down, but she was determined she wouldn't.

She picked up the glass, holding it between her thumb and two fingers. She looked at Alex. “On three?”

Alex smiled and picked up her glass. She started to slowly count to three.

When she got to two, Piper moved the glass to her lips, threw her head back and swallowed the fiery liquid. She pressed her lips together, squeezed her eyes closed, grimaced, then let her head drop forward as she slammed the shot glass back onto the bar. She opened her mouth and a quiet gasp escaped, but only a gasp. No coughing. Just a gasp.

Alex smiled broadly, then drank her own shot. Placing her glass back beside Piper's on the bar.

“You're a cheat,” she grinned, referencing Piper going on two, not three. “But you're not a lightweight any more.”

“I don't think I can breathe,” Piper rasped, bent over the bar. “I think you just killed my throat.”

Alex laughed and raised the bottle of tequila. “Another?”

“No!” Piper replied immediately, pushing the shot glasses away. “Please God, no. How strong is that stuff, anyway?”

“Hmm,” Alex pondered this, looking at the bottle as she placed it back on the bar. “About eighty per cent, I think.”

“ _Eighty_?”

“Yeah, thereabouts.”

“Holy crap! Are you trying to get me drunk?”

“Do I need to?” Alex replied with a smile and a comical wiggle of her eyebrows.

Piper laughed and Alex grinned at the sound.

“C'mon,” she said a moment later, easing off the bar stool “let's get out of here.”

She gestured to Nicky and held up the bottle of tequila. “My office,” she instructed and Nicky nodded her understanding as she made her way over to collect the bottle.

“You kids be good,” Nicky said, as Alex shrugged into her coat and stepped aside to allow Piper to lead the way.

Alex threw Nicky the middle finger with her left hand, as she placed her right in the small of Piper's back and guided her to the door.

Nicky watched them go, grinning, then carefully placed the ridiculously expensive tequila back in Alex's office.

 

* * *

 

As they stepped out onto the street, the noise of the bar fading behind them, Piper looked around at Alex.

“So, I'm guessing Mexican then, given the tequila entree.”

Alex shook her head. “Nope, that was just to warm you up. How hungry are you?”

“I haven't eaten anything other than an apple since breakfast at 7am. So, yeah. Pretty hungry.”

Alex started walking down the street, tilting her head to the side, gesturing for Piper to follow. Piper fell into step beside her and Alex chastised her. “That isn't good. You didn't have lunch?”

“Not today. I was going to, but one of the kids had a fall and I spent most of lunch trying to calm him down and reassure him that his leg wasn't actually broken.”

Alex's eyebrows shot up in surprise and she looked at Piper. “You have _kids_?”

Piper laughed quietly at the tone of Alex's voice and smiled across at her. “Yeah. I have twenty of 'em. I'm a teacher.”

“Wow,” Alex said, looking genuinely surprised. “A teacher. I'd never have guessed that about you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. No. I mean…” Alex's voiced trailed off as her mind tried to organise itself.

“You don't think I look like a teacher?”

Alex looked directly at Piper as they walked, then shook her head. “Trust me, Piper. If my teachers had looked anything like you, I'd have spent far more time in class and far less smoking behind the bleachers.”

Piper ducked her head, smiling shyly at the compliment. That was two so far and she'd only been in Alex's company for fifteen minutes.

She pushed her hands into the pockets of her coat and walked beside Alex. “I'm a substitute teacher, really. The real teacher is sick, so I'm covering.”

“What age are the kids?”

“Third grade.”

“Tough gig.”

“Tell me about it.”

They walked half a block in silence, until Piper spoke again. “Are you going to tell me where we're going yet?”

“Not far.”

“That isn't telling me very much,” Piper smiled.

“That's the whole point of a surprise, Pipes.”

Piper grinned at the casual and familiar way Alex had shortened her name, then instantly wondered why she wasn't offended by this. She often corrected people when they did this, irritated by the over-familiarity of acquaintances who thought it was okay to use a shortened version.

But it was okay when Alex did it. Apparently.

“Penny for them.” Alex's voice was soft, quiet beside her.

Piper startled a little, then quickly apologised. “Sorry. I was just thinking about that kid from school today,” she lied. “The one with the broken leg.”

“That wasn't broken.”

“More's the pity.”

Alex grinned. “Nice, Teach. Showing your compassionate side there.”

Piper shrugged. “You can't like all of 'em. This one's the class bully, so I had to dig pretty deep to find some compassion today.”

“Ugh. Bullies. You shoulda broken it for him.” Alex's voice was quiet again, with a hint of something else lacing her words.

“They kinda frown upon that. The school board, I mean.”

Alex smiled a small smile, then turned up the collar of her coat against the sudden chill and pushed her hands into her coat pockets.

“Almost there,” she said, casting a sideways glance at Piper, who walked beside her, eyes wide as she took in her surroundings.

“Almost where?” Piper tried, hopefully.

Alex just smiled at her.

A few minutes later they turned a corner and entered what appeared to Piper to be a communal garden. It was surrounded on three sides by large industrial looking buildings, the fourth side opening onto the road. The square in the centre was large, mainly grass covered and dotted with trees, but with paved walkways lined with street-lamps and benches criss-crossing the area. Piper could hear music playing but couldn't quite work out from where and her steps slowed as she tried to take in her surroundings. There were strings of coloured flags draped along the railings separating the garden from the road and groups of people _everywhere_. There was a buzz emanating from the garden as people chatted and laughed together.

Alex slowed to match Piper's pace and half-turned towards her. A huge cheer rang out ahead of them and off to the right, then raucous laughter. Both Piper and Alex turned to the sound and saw a Chinese lantern drifting lazily up into the air, cheered on by a group of a dozen or so people, as it rose past the height of the adjacent building, then was caught by the breeze and disappeared from sight behind the structure.

Alex moved to stand beside Piper as they watched the lantern's slow ascent, placing her hand in the small of the other woman's back. When the lantern disappeared from view, she applied gentle pressure, steering her further into the garden.

“Hungry?” she murmured.

Piper nodded, looking around.

With one hand firmly planted at the bottom of Piper's back, Alex used the other to point out various spots within the garden.

“That's Mr Nguyen and his wife, just there, they make an incredible _nom hua chuoi_ , but I think they're just doing _banh xeo_ tonight. It's basically an enormous pancake filled with shrimp and pork and egg and bean sprouts, then they fry it and wrap it in rice paper with a load of green leafy stuff in an attempt to distract you from the whole frying thing and fool you into thinking it's healthy.”

Piper laughed at the description, looking over towards the Vietnamese couple who were busy wrapping pancakes. Alex lowered her voice and leaned a little closer. “It comes served with a sauce that you dunk it in. A spicy sauce. Probably too spicy for your delicate throat, _Lightweight_.”

“Heyyy!” Piper protested. “I didn't choke! You're not allowed to call me that.”

Alex grinned and pointed out another table, a little further along the path. “That's the Mendoza family. I'm not sure what they've cooked tonight, but I absolutely guarantee you that whatever it is, if you choose them, it'll be _the_ best Mexican food you have _ever_ , ever tasted. Ever.”

“Ever?” Piper asked, with a smile.

“Ever,” Alex grinned.

They continued to make their way through the garden, following the paths, passing more families manning more tables with tantalising smells emanating from each. Alex smiled and waved hello to several groups who greeted her as they slowly meandered through the garden.

“How do you know all these people?” Piper asked, amazed at the number of people who knew Alex by name.

Alex shrugged. “They're my neighbours,” she said simply. “I live here.”

Piper seemed surprised. “Where? You live where?”

Alex looked at Piper curiously, then moved six feet to the right, bent her knees slightly and pointed through a gap in the trees to the building at the back of the garden. “Just there. Top floor, in the corner.”

Piper peered through the gap in the trees, then stood and turned full circle, surveying her surroundings.

“I thought they were industrial buildings. Warehouses. I didn't realise...”

“You're kind of right,” Alex began, starting to walk again. “They were all warehouses, up until the early eighties when the lumber mill closed and everything went to shit. Then about ten years ago, urban regeneration finally hit. Not a moment too soon. They demolished the mill, turned the footprint into this garden, and refurbished the warehouses, turning them into apartments. I've lived here since they first opened, most of the other families arrived not long after.”

“So you've built your own little community.”

“I guess so. This cookout happens a couple of times a year, it's a good chance for any new families to get to know everyone else and a good opportunity for slate wiping, if there's been any discord. Everybody contributes in some way, it's kinda nice.”

“So what's your contribution?”

Alex smirked. “Funny you should ask...”

They stopped in front of a couple of stocky looking guys with short dark hair standing beside two empty tables draped in large, white tablecloths.

“Max. Vasily.” Alex nodded at both men. “Everything okay?”

“Everything's cool, yeah.” Vasily replied. “Yuri's just gone with ma to bring a little more stock out. Everything is good.”

“Get you something, Alex?” Maxsim asked from behind one of the tables.

She glanced at Piper and smiled slightly, then held up two fingers. Max picked up the edge of a tablecloth, bent under the table and emerged holding two ice cold bottles of _Corona_. He flipped the lids off, ducked under the tablecloth again, and to Piper's amazement emerged with two slices of lime, which he pushed into the necks of the bottles before passing them both to Alex.

She thanked Max, handed a bottle to Piper and started to move away again. “Later, guys.”

Piper followed quickly, but couldn't help casting glances back to the two tables with the mysterious tablecloths hiding goodness knows what underneath. Alex grinned, watching Piper, then gestured to an empty bench a little way ahead. They both sat, then Alex clinked her bottle against Piper's before taking a swig.

“I own a bar,” she shrugged. “My contribution is pretty standard every year.”

Piper took a sip of beer, looking back towards the tables. She watched as two boys, no more than ten years old approached Maxsim and Vasily. This time it was Vasily who disappeared beneath the tablecloth, emerging with two cans of soda. As he cracked them open, Max stuffed a straw into the top of each and the kids wandered off again, slurping their sodas, happy.

Alex watched Piper, watching the kids. She turned sideways on the bench, her arm draped along the back. “There are bins under the tables, filled with ice. Four bins. Two hold beer, one holds wine, the other soda. The guys run _the bar_ ,” she made speechmarks in the air as she said this, “supervised by their mother, Galina. Or _Red_ , as everyone calls her, on account of her hair apparently, although I think it's more likely to be her fiery temper.” She swallowed another mouthful of beer then continued. “Red keeps the stock in her apartment, because it's easier. She's on the ground floor, I'm on the top. When the bins start running low, she tops them up again.”

“It must cost you a _fortune_ ,” Piper mused.

“It's worth every penny. Look around you, Pipes. Look how relaxed everyone is. Everyone getting along.”

Alex looked around as she said this, then suddenly sat up as something caught her eye. She thrust her beer at Piper then stood. “Wait right here, 'kay? I'll be back in two minutes.”

Before Piper had time to argue, Alex hurried away. Piper watched as she made her way to another table a little further around the path. The woman running this one was young, petite and obviously delighted to see Alex, greeting her with a squeal and a big hug. Piper smiled watching the interaction, sipping her beer. She watched Alex's shoulders make a quarter turn and saw her gesture vaguely in Piper's direction, talking animatedly, then a minute later she made her way back to the bench, carrying two paper bowls in her hands.

She grinned at Piper as she sat beside her and passed her a bowl. Piper glanced at it, finding a pile of steaming spaghetti with a plastic fork sticking out of the top.

“Spaghetti?” Piper asked, vaguely.

“Not just any spaghetti, kid. This is Morello's spaghetti. It's the best damn spaghetti outside of Rome, I shit you not.”

Piper took a sip of beer, then placed the bottle on the floor with Alex's.

“I offered you a choice of Mexican, Vietnamese or Italian, right? We also have Hungarian, Latvian, Greek, Korean and Portuguese I think, but once you've had Morello's spaghetti sauce, you'll be ruined for any other, ever.”

Piper laughed softly at Alex's enthusiasm, then extracted her fork from the bowl.

“It's maybe the worst possible choice of food for a first date, I'll admit that. It's messy and it's difficult to eat, but trust me, it's worth it.”

Alex managed to twirl a sizeable amount of spaghetti around her fork and manoeuvred it to her mouth without spilling any, Piper watching her. As soon as Alex pulled the empty fork away, Piper asked her question.

“First date, huh? Is that what this is?”

Alex chewed her food slowly and swallowed, eyes fixed on Piper. “Isn't it?”

“It's rude to answer a question with a question.”

“I'm just curious as to what you think we're doing, if we're not on a date.”

“Enjoying each other's company?”

“Is that a question or a statement?”

Piper smiled. “Maybe you're just taking pity on a stranger who you feel sorry for, because you think she was stood up last night.”

“I'm not the pitying type, kid.” Alex chuckled.

“I wasn't stood up, anyway,” Piper started. “Or at least, not in the way you think.”

“How do you know what I think?”

“It's one of my many talents. Mind reading.” Piper smiled, joking.

Alex raised an eyebrow and looked sideways at Piper. “For real?”

Piper giggled, shaking her head.

“Go on then. Tell me what I'm thinking, right now.”

Piper smiled wider and looked at Alex, pretending to concentrate, staring into her eyes. Alex leaned back slightly on the bench and tilted her head to the side, watching Piper carefully. As they looked at each other, Alex pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, holding it for a couple of seconds.

Piper, ducked her head and turned away a few seconds later, a flush creeping up her neck and leaking into her cheeks. She wasn't entirely sure just how Alex was able to induce this kind of reaction in her from something so simple as biting her lip, but there was no mistaking the heat that pooled in the bottom of her belly as she watched the gesture and there was no escaping the blush that threatened to give her away.

Alex leaned a little closer. “Are you blushing?”

Piper quickly denied this. “Of course not!”

She was. She clearly was. Fortunately Alex didn't push it.

“Phew,” she said quietly. “For a minute there I thought you really _could_ read my mind.”

She turned her attention back to her food and pretended to ignore the fact that Piper had just almost choked on a mouthful of spaghetti.

Alex grinned. Piper blushed even redder.

“You were right,” Piper said a few minutes later as she finished her spaghetti and placed the bowl on the bench beside her. “I don't think I've ever had spaghetti that good before. Even in Rome!”

“You've been to Rome?”

“Mmm. The Eternal City. You know, even the ancient Romans called it that, because they thought that no matter what happened to the world, no matter how many empires would rise and fall, Rome would go on forever. Even Ovid referred to the city as eternal and he was around about fifty years BC. He was right, too. For over two millennia, Rome has an almost uninterrupted history as an important centre of power. ”

Alex smiled a little, listening to Piper. “You'd think in all that time, they'd have nailed spaghetti sauce making, huh? They've had two thousand years to do it, Morello here's had about twenty-eight and she wins hands down.”

Piper grinned, reaching for her beer again. She raised her bottle slightly in a toast, waiting for Alex to follow suit. “To Morello and her eternal spaghetti sauce.”

Alex smiled and tapped her bottle against Piper's, then took a swig before leaning back against the bench again.

The two women sat in silence for a few seconds, watching the people moving around the garden, everyone appearing relaxed. Piper looked around, trying to ascertain where the music she could hear was coming from, but couldn't quite pin it down. She was about to ask Alex about it, when the dark haired woman spoke.

“I've been to Rome too,” she said. “About four years ago. I did a bit of a flying tour of Europe, five countries in two weeks. London, Paris, Madrid, Rome and Bratislava.”

“Bratislava? Why on earth did you choose Bratislava? I mean, I get the others, but _Bratislava_?”

Alex smiled and took another mouthful of beer before replying. “I didn't exactly choose it. I was meant to be going to Prague from Rome, but there was a technical problem with the aircraft and we ended up being diverted for an emergency landing in Bratislava. Once we were there, I thought I might as well stay. Turns out Slovakia is really beautiful. Who knew?”

Piper laughed quietly. “I kinda like that. The deciding to stay, thing. I'd have probably been panic stricken and desperate to leave again so it didn't disrupt my itinerary. I quite like the spontaneity of you choosing to make the most of the unexpected and just staying.”

Alex shrugged and sipped her beer again before speaking slowly, thoughtfully. “Sometimes, I think, life just presents you with opportunities, often when you least expect it and when you're not particularly looking for them. Beautiful opportunities.”

She paused, looking at Piper, before she continued. “Bratislava was beautiful. Sometimes beauty just lands in front of you and it's important to embrace it and not let it pass you by.”

Her eyes held Piper's as she said this and they continued looking at each other for a few seconds after she'd finished. It was Piper who lowered her eyes and looked away first, but Alex didn't miss her small smile and knew Piper had realised she was the _beautiful opportunity_ Alex was now referring to.

“Tell me about Paris,” Piper said, breaking the silence a few moments later. “I've never been.”

So she did. They spent the next hour on the bench, surrounded by groups of people all of whom were talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company. Alex spoke at length about the cities she'd visited on her whirlwind European holiday, sharing tales of good restaurants and rough bars, tourist hotspots and backstreet secrets. Vasily walked past them a couple of times and delivered two new bottles of beer each time. Occasionally people would stop and exchange pleasantries with Alex and she had a kind word for everyone she met. The music continued to drift across to them, carried on the breeze from somewhere nearby. It was a good place to be.

The sun had set a couple of hours previously and the temperature was dropping noticeably as they sat talking on the bench. Piper pulled her coat closed around her and moved a little closer to Alex for warmth. Eventually the hubbub in the garden began to subside as families put their younger children to bed and the numbers began to dwindle. Alex drained her bottle of beer and looked across at Piper.

“We good to go, Pipes?”

Piper nodded, finishing her own drink. The alcohol was giving her a gentle buzz, helping to stave off the cold of the night, but only just.

Alex stood and offered her hand to the other woman, to pull her up. Piper took it, but didn't let go once she was standing. Alex glanced sideways at her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, but she didn't let go either.

They began a slow walk back in the direction of _Suave_ , talking quietly. Piper lived a fifteen minute walk away from the bar, but it took them three times as long this evening, neither of them hurrying, both enjoying each other's company and the ease with which the conversation between them flowed. Eventually they arrived outside Piper's apartment building.

“This is me,” Piper said, looking up at the building.

Alex squeezed her hand gently. “I think I'm ready to answer your question now,” she said softly.

“What question?”

“The one about what we're doing tonight.” She paused, wet her lips, then spoke again, keeping her voice soft. “I'm not going to make you uncomfortable or put you on the spot here, but I'm pretty sure we both know what tonight was.”

A slow smile began on Piper's lips. “Ah,” she said, understanding. “Ah yes.”

“But calling it a _first_ date, suggests there might be a second.”

“Mmm. There's that.”

“You have my number, Pipes. You know how to use it if that's something you'd want.”

Piper opened her mouth to reply, but Alex continued, cutting her off. “For now I'm just going to thank you for tonight. I'm very happy I didn't let this particular _beautiful opportunity_ pass me by.”

Alex took a step closer, closing the gap between them. Holding Piper's gaze she lifted their joined hands and softly kissed the blonde woman's knuckles, pressing her lips against the skin and lingering for just a moment before releasing her hand and stepping away.

She smiled slightly before murmuring “G'night, Piper.”

Then she turned and walked away.

 


	3. 3

Piper stood and watched as Alex slowly walked away from her, a small smile playing on her lips as the dark haired woman sauntered to the end of the block and then turned the corner, passing out of sight. ****

Piper bounced a little on the balls of her feet, then took two backwards steps still looking at the corner of the block, before spinning around and entering the building. She hurried up the stairs into her apartment, hung her coat on the antique hatstand and noticed the light flashing on her answering machine. She slipped her shoes off and hit 'play' as she headed into the kitchen.

_Piper? It's your mother. It would be nice if you could perhaps call home once in a while, just to reassure your daddy and I that you're not lying dead in a ghetto gutter somewhere._

Piper rolled her eyes as she listened. In her mother's eyes, anywhere at all where the populace diversified from _WASP_ was classed as the ghetto. She poured herself a glass of water as her mother's clipped tones continued.

 _Had you taken the time to call, you'd have been aware that the Forsbergs have invited us to dinner at their place in_ _T_ _he Hamptons_ _this weekend, and the invitation extends to you. Daddy has said he's happy to drive there, so we'll be passing through the city on Saturday afternoon. We'll pick you up_ _on our way through_ _. Make sure you wear something appropriate please, Piper. Matthias will be there. I'll call you tomorrow, darling. Kiss kiss._

Piper scowled at the answering machine, about to argue with it until she realised the futility of that particular course of action. She was beyond irritated, firstly at her mother's assumption that _of course_ she would attend the Forsberg's dinner without question and also at the pointed mention of Matthias. Her mother had been trying to convince Piper that they were a perfect match for at least five years. In truth, Piper thought he was a pig. He was a spoiled, narcissistic, chauvinistic, misogynistic pig who turned on the charm when he had to and Piper had absolutely no idea why her mother continued to fall for his act and couldn't actually see this.

She leaned against the kitchen counter and sipped her glass of water, pondering if it was too late to call her mother back and put her straight, when the next message began.

_Piper? Piper pick up. It's eight o'clock and I just finished work. Deadline met, it's time to celebrate. Where are you? Pick up the phone, come on now, there's no need to punish me for last night I'm about to make it up to you._

Piper listened to the pause in the message, Polly was giving her time to pick up the call, then:

_D_ _amn, Piper. You know what this means, don't you? This means I'm gonna have to go out with the intern without you around to keep me sane! If he ends up dead, I'm holding you entirely responsible. Call me tomorrow, babe. Love ya._

Piper finished her water, then checked the time. It was approaching midnight, so she locked up then grabbed her phone and moved into the bedroom, dialling Polly's number. She let it ring out for a full minute before giving up and hanging up. She moved into the bathroom and removed her makeup, then brushed her teeth, undressed, set the alarm on her phone and slid into bed.

She lay still for a full five minutes before turning over and snatching her phone from the bedside table. She opened her text messages and re-read her exchange with Alex from the previous evening before turning onto her side and opening a new message.

In her head she wrote, deleted and re-wrote a message to Alex five times. Eventually, annoyed with herself for being so indecisive, she typed a message that consisted of just three characters, then hit send before she changed her mind.

_Hey_

She groaned, looking at the message on her screen. For someone with a degree in English Language and Literature, she was doing a fine job of making herself look, well, dim.

A couple of minutes passed before her phone lit up in her hand with the arrival of a new message.

_Hey yourself._

Piper chewed the inside of her lip, considering her next message, before her fingertips tapped the screen again.

_I just wanted to check you got home okay._

The reply came quickly this time.

_Safe and sound. x_

Piper's eyes automatically went to the ' _x_ ' at the end of the message. Was this a kiss, or was it used as a form of punctuation? But wait, there was a full stop immediately before the 'x', so it couldn't be punctuation. Or could it? No. Not punctuation. So was it a kiss, then, or was it just a way of signing off the message? Maybe that's her nickname, X, and she signs all her messages off this way. But wait… she scrolled up and read the messages from the night before again… yep, there it is. She signs off with a lowercase 'x'. Maybe it's like an extra form of punctuation. Maybe it's what she uses after a full stop to signify the end of a conversation. Yes. That's it. That makes more sense. More sense than it being a kiss, anyway.

_Thank you for walking me home._

Piper hesitated for a full two minutes before hitting send on that one, an internal debate about whether or not to sign off with an _x_ raging.

_You're welcome. I just wanted to find out where you live so I can stalk you._

Piper laughed quietly on receiving this message and replied quickly.

_You make a habit of stalking people?_

Alex's next message arrived immediately.

_Only beautiful teachers, as a rule._

Piper blushed furiously when she read this message and pressed her face into her pillow, hiding a shy smile.

_No reply. So you're either flattered or embarrassed. Or maybe both. Both would be okay, I guess._

Before Piper could reply, another message arrived.

_I don't mean to make things awkward, though. Sometimes my mouth – or in this case, fingers – runs away with me. You could just reply telling me to shut up, you know. I wouldn't be offended._

This was quickly followed by:

_Well I might, but I'd hide it well._

Piper still didn't reply. A couple of minutes passed, then another message landed.

_Piper? Have you fallen asleep?_

Piper laughed quietly and was tempted to withhold a reply, just to see what Alex would say next. She couldn't do it. She composed a reply.

 _Not asleep. A little embarrassed, yes. Also flattered.  
_ _Not awkward though. I just don't know what to say._

A response came from Alex half a minute later.

_Try: shut up, Alex._

Piper grinned and replied immediately.

_Shut up, Alex. x_

Piper's eyes widened and she stared at her phone. Oh my God. That's an ' _x_ ', Chapman. You just signed your message to Alex, with an ' _x_ '. And you mean a kiss, you know full well you mean a kiss. Piper hoped Alex didn't notice it and waited anxiously for the next text message to arrive.

No such luck.

_Was that a kiss? ;)_

ARGH!

Okay. Recovery strategy. Go with your recovery strategy.

Wait, _what_ recovery strategy?!

Piper is aware that the time where a spontaneous reply would be sent is stretching to its limit now. Alex is clearly sitting there waiting for a reply to her question and Piper can think of three strategies.

  1. reply without making mention to the 'x', so effectively ignore Alex's question.
  2. denial. Deny it's a kiss, say it's a form of punctuation. Back it up with a random reference to obscure English Literature and college and try to bluff your way out of it.
  3. admit it's a kiss.



Piper closed her eyes, her face screwed up as she pondered the different options, clutching her phone to her chest. She let out a frustrated little noise, then started to compose a reply.

_Yes. You missed out on one when you walked me home, so it seems only fair._

She hit send and prayed she hadn't just made a mistake. She re-read the message she'd just sent and cringed. Oh, Chapman, what have you done?

_I'm impressed. I thought you'd have either ignored my question or denied it was a kiss. I'm impressed that you tackled it head on! I'm also quite pleased with the answer._

Piper let out a breath all in a hurry when she read Alex's reply. Relief. Before she could respond, a second message arrived.

_When I say 'quite pleased', I might be understating things a little._

Piper smiled and started to type a response. Before she could finish it, a third message hit her inbox.

_Okay, a lot._

Piper smiled more and deleted the message she'd just composed. She re-read Alex's replies, then composed a response.

_I had a good time tonight. I would love to do it again._

A moment later a reply arrived.

_Well that's a shame, the next cookout isn't planned until May._

Immediately followed by another.

 _Ignore that message.  
_ _Sometimes I can't help being a smartass._

Piper smiled and waited. A minute later, another reply.

_What I meant to say was: Good. I'd love to do it again, too._

Piper was still smiling when she tapped out her reply.

_Would that be a second date?_

She kept her eyes on the screen, waiting for Alex's response.

_I think so, yes._

Piper replied straight away.

_Yes. :)_

Two minutes passed until her phone lit up again.

_If we make it to three, don't forget to bring a suitcase._

As if Alex could sense the confusion her message created, she quickly followed it up with another.

_Lesbians. Suitcase on the third date, U-Haul on the fourth._

Piper laughed out loud at this and replied a couple of minutes later.

_Goodnight, Alex. x_

This time, the 'x' was deliberate.

_Goodnight, Pipes. Sweet dreams.  
Call you tomorrow. x_

 

* * *

 

It was lunchtime at school the next day when Piper returned to the staff room and turned on her phone. The icon at the bottom of her screen told her she had two voicemails. She poured herself a coffee and sat near the window in the staff room before hitting play and listening to her messages.

The first was from Polly. Five seconds long.

_Hey hey hey. It's me. I have a new phone. Call me._

The second was from Alex.

_Hi Piper, it's Alex. I just wondered if you'd like to go shopping for suitcases this evening after school? Give me a call if that's something you'd be interested in._

Piper smiled and returned Alex's call first. It went straight to voicemail. Piper ended the call without leaving a message, then called Polly.

“Harper, yes?”

“Do you ever say 'hello' when you answer the phone like normal people do?”

“Normal people are boring. I don't ever want to be normal.”

“Well that's lucky, you're the most abnormal person I've ever met.”

“You've met the intern, right?”

Piper smiled. “I have. Is he still in love with you?”

“He's not in love with me, he just wants to use me for sex.”

Piper burst out laughing at that. “And how's he getting on with that?”

“I'm sure he and his right hand are getting along just fine.”

“For now.”

“For _ever_. And if you were any kind of friend, you'd take him off my hands for a while. Distract him or something. But no, where were you last night when I needed you?”

“Ah, I was busy last night. School stuff, you know.”

“School stuff?”

“Yeah.”

“Mmhmm. You know, Piper, did I ever tell you just how terrible a liar you are?”

“Umm...”

“Your voice changes pitch. I bet you don't even know you're doing it. But the question is: what were you _really_ doing last night?”

Piper could feel colour rising up her cheeks. “I was, uh, busy.”

“So you said. With whom?”

“Oh I'm impressed with the correct usage of the word 'whom' there, Pol. Very well done.”

“Thank you, but that won't work.”

“What won't?”

“Complimenting me on my grammar. It's a diversion tactic and I can see right through it. So you need to… wait… one sec...”

Piper heard her friend barking instructions to someone in the office, then she returned to the call.

“Sorry, it's… _shit_.”

Polly again moved the phone from her ear and Piper could hear her carrying on a terse conversation with somebody else in the room. Twenty seconds later she returned to the call.

“I gotta go. You can tell me tonight. I'll meet you at seven in the bar from the other night. _Suave_ , is it? See you then. No excuses.”

And before Piper could argue, Polly hung up.

She was flustered for a moment but before she had time to really think things through, the phone rang in her hand. _Alex_. She considered not answering it for all of half a second, then accepted the call.

“Hey, Alex.”

“Hey yourself. I had a missed call from you. Sorry.”

“Ah that's okay, I was just returning your call.”

“About suitcase shopping?”

Piper could hear the smile in Alex's voice and couldn't help smiling herself. “Yeah, about that. I can't make it tonight, I'm sorry. I have plans already with Polly.”

“Polly?”

“My friend,” she quickly added. “Best friend. From college.”

“Ah okay. That's cool. Another time then.”

“But listen, are you working tonight? Because I kind of agreed to meet her at your bar and… well, it'd be nice to see you.”

“With Polly?”

“I'm hoping to have ditched her by about nine?”

“Was that a question?”

Piper smiled. “Okay, Alex, look. Polly has her suspicions that I may have been on a date last night and she wants to grill me about it. She suggested we meet at _Suave_ and then hung up on me before I could challenge her. Polly will be coming to the bar straight from work at seven. If you're likely to be free, I can make sure she's on her way home by nine.”

“I think the suitcase store will be closed by then.”

“Oh no,” Piper deadpanned. “Well maybe you could have a drink with me instead.”

“Like a date?”

“Just like a date, yes.”

“Well,” Alex paused, making Piper wait. “I guess we don't really need the suitcase until the _third_ date anyway.”

“Is that a yes?”

“That's a yes.”

Piper could feel herself grinning.

 

* * *

 

Piper arrived at _Suave_ at exactly seven o'clock. She entered and looked around and to her amazement saw that Polly was already there, seated at the bar. She moved alongside her and greeted her with mock horror.

“Are you okay? Are you sick? What's the matter? It's not like you to be on time for anything!”

“Yeah yeah, shut the fuck up. Nice to see you too.”

The two women grinned at each other, then Polly gave Piper a rough one-armed hug.

“I got a drink already, but wasn't sure what you wanted. Let me...” she turned to try and catch the attention of the bartender. This turned out to be a far simpler task than she'd anticipated as the bartender was already making her way towards them, wearing a silly grin. Before Polly could speak, the woman addressed Piper.

“Hey blondie. Good t'see ya. Want me to…?” she jerked her thumb over her shoulder, half-turning towards Alex's office.

Piper shook her head, short and fast, her eyes widening in warning. “Just a white wine, please.”

The bartender gave her a curious look, then poured her wine. Piper pointed out an empty booth to her friend and Polly moved away to grab it whilst Piper waited for her drink.

The glass was placed in front of her, but the bartender kept hold of it for just a moment longer, looking Piper in the eye. “The boss is in back,” she said, her voice quiet.

Piper noted the challenging look in the bartender's eye and addressed it. “I know,” she said, keeping her voice calm. “We spoke earlier and as soon as I ditch my best friend from college who doesn't yet know that I went on a date last night, your boss and I have plans.” She watched the bartender's expression relax, then added “Together,” in case there was any doubt.

The bartender finally released her hold on the glass of wine. “Sorry,” she said, a sheepish grin appearing.

Piper gave her a small smile, then reached into her bag for her purse.

The bartender shook her head, backing away slightly. “She's not just my boss, she's a good friend. I try to look out for her. I'm sorry, yeah? This one's on me.”

Piper picked up her wine. “It's Nicky, isn't it?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Nicky.” She smiled a genuine smile then moved to join Polly in the booth, glancing back once and flashing Nicky another quick smile.

“Smooth, Chapman,” Polly said as soon as she slid in opposite her.

“What?”

“I saw you, flirting with the bartender. I also noticed you didn't pay for your drink. Smoooooth.”

Piper grinned. “I was _not_ flirting with the bartender!”

“Piper, you were practically _holding hands_ with her at one point, both of you holding the glass of wine whilst staring into each other's eyes. I nearly fucking vomited right here on the table!”

Piper laughed. “Not flirting,” she said. “Just having a conversation.”

“A conversation that resulted in you not having to pay for your wine, yeah, I noticed.”

“You're just jealous that you had to pay for yours.”

“I am! I'm sending you to get the drinks all night. You're onto a winner.”

Piper rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink.

“How's Barry?”

“Barry?”

“Your besotted intern?”

“Oh! _Barry_! He's about the same as usual. Currently grovelling after the incident with my phone. Name's Larry though. Not Barry. Although, I think I might start calling him Barry from now on, just to see if he has the balls to correct me.” Polly grinned wickedly and Piper knew she wasn't joking about this.

“You're mean to him. You should give him a chance.”

“I gave him a fucking chance when I didn't fire his ass on the spot after he broke my damn phone.”

“You know what I mean. He's like a puppy, the way he follows you around.”

“Bestiality's never been my thing, Pipe.”

Piper burst out laughing and held her hands up in surrender. “Enough!”

Polly grinned, then took hold of her glass and leaned back in her seat. “So tell me about last night.”

Piper shrugged. “Nothing to tell. Busy with school stuff, I told you.”

“Listen to that. Did you hear it? The pitch of your voice totally changes!”

“It does not!”

Polly shook her head, smiling. “Just tell me, Piper. Stop being coy.”

“I'm not being coy, I'm just being… discreet.”

“There's a difference?”

“Yes there's a difference! I'm just being… careful.”

“Careful.”

“Yes. It means...”

“I know what it means, Piper. What I don't know is why you're doing it!”

Piper looked at her glass of wine, then cast her eyes over to the door to Alex's office, then looked back at her friend. “Okay. So I went on a date, but...”

“I knew it!” Polly interrupted. “I fucking knew it!”

“ _But_ ,” Piper continued, “I don't really want to talk about it because it went well and I don't want to jinx it.”

“How well?”

“Really well.”

“ _Really_ well?” Polly asked, both eyebrows raised.

“Are you asking me if I put out, Polly?”

Polly laughed out loud. “Well _did_ you?”

“No!” Piper exclaimed. “It wasn't like that. It was… it was nice. It was just, good.”

“Third base?”

“No, Pol!”

“Second?”

“No!”

“Jesus, Piper. You said it was good. How can it be good if you didn't even get to second base?”

“I told you, it wasn't like that. It was… we just got to know each other.”

“And what better way than passing the bases?”

Piper shook her head, but couldn't help smiling.

“Okay, okay,” Polly started. “So you spent the evening in each other's company, talking and learning more about each other. Am I on the right track?”

“Yes. It was just like that. It was nice.”

“It sounds boring.”

“It wasn't!”

“So are you seeing each other again?”

“Yeah, actually.”

“ _Really_?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?”

“Because I can't remember the last time you actually went on a second date with someone, honestly.”

Piper frowned. “It hasn't been that long.”

“It's been about two years, Pipe.”

“No, it hasn't. It's...” she paused, thinking.

Polly just watched her, one eyebrow raised. Her expression changed to one of smugness when she saw the realisation dawn on Piper's face.

“Wow,” Piper said, quietly.

“Hookups don't count.”

“They should.”

“They never have.”

“I'd be way ahead of you if we counted hookups.”

“That's because you're a slut.”

Piper sprayed a mouthful of wine over the surface of the table and Polly burst out laughing.

“Sorry, I couldn't resist.”

“You're so not sorry.” Piper replied, wiping her chin with a napkin.

“You're right, I'm not.” Polly grinned.

“I'm going to the bathroom,” Piper announced, standing. “ _You_ can get me another drink.”

 

* * *

 

 

By ten past nine, Polly had dragged as much information out of Piper as she was going to get. A forename, an occupation and a neighbourhood. That was it. She knew trying to extract more details was pointless. Piper was keeping her cards very close to her chest.

Piper started to wind the evening up just after Polly had taken her second work-related phone call of the evening and by nine fifteen they were hugging across the table and Polly was heading out for a cab.

“I'm just going to go to the bathroom,” Piper had said. “You go, I'll follow you out and call you tomorrow.”

So Polly had left and Piper stayed in her seat, finishing her wine. Two minutes later, Alex slid into the booth beside her.

Piper smiled, without even looking at her.

“I knew you were watching me,” she said. “On the CCTV, in your office, I knew it.”

“I did tell you I was a stalker,” Alex replied.

Piper turned her head and smiled at Alex. “I didn't tell her that bit, when she was drilling me for information about you.”

“Probably wise,” Alex smiled. “So what did you tell her?”

“Not much. Certainly not as much as she wanted me to, anyway. She thinks you're boring.”

“Boring?!”

Piper grinned. “Yep, because we didn't get to second base.”

“We didn't get to _first_.”

“No, we didn't.” Piper replied with a rueful grin.

Alex smiled as she moved her hand to cover Piper's on the table, looking her in the eye. “I think that might change very soon.”

Piper bit the inside of her lip to stop herself smiling. “God I hope so,” she breathed.

 


	4. 4

They left _Suave_ and moved to a small bar a little closer to Piper's apartment after fifteen minutes. Piper would have been happy remaining where they were for the rest of the evening, but Alex was keen to move on. That probably had something to do with the fact that Nicky took every opportunity she could find to lean on the bar and stare at her boss, grinning.

The bar they moved to was one Piper hadn't visited before. It was in the basement of a building a few minutes away and Alex was greeted warmly when they entered firstly by a burly guy standing just inside the door, then by a very tall, very beautiful, dark skinned woman behind the counter. Alex introduced Piper by name, but nothing more, and chose a table in the corner for them both after ordering a bottle of wine.

Piper followed Alex to the table and watched her pour the wine into their glasses, thanking her quietly.

“I didn't even know this place was here, yet I must walk past it five or six times each week.”

Alex smiled. “They don't have a sign. The customers here have found out about it purely by word of mouth and that's the way they like it. They're pretty much always busy, but don't advertise their presence. Reggie – the guy at the door? He makes sure the customers are the kind of customers Sophia wants. Everyone else gets notified of their error in assuming this is a bar and _redirected_.”

“Sophia?”

“The tall chick behind the bar. She owns this place. I've known her for five or six years, ever since she opened up here.”

“So, this place is your competition, I guess.”

Alex smiled again and sipped her wine. “I guess so, although we've never seen it that way. We're friends, first and foremost. Also, this place is about a third of the size of mine, so...”

Piper smiled. “Size isn't everything, Alex.”

Alex smirked and raised an eyebrow. Piper sat back in her seat, watching her as she sipped her wine.

In contrast to the lively atmosphere of _Suave_ , the ambiance was very different in Sophia's bar; the lights were low, a small candle in a blood red glass vase sat in the centre of each table, there were maybe twenty people in the bar scattered at different tables but conversation was muted and the soft sound of a piano drifted towards them. Piper couldn't be sure if there was a piano actually in the room, or if it was coming through hidden speakers. Either way, she smiled a little as she listened.

“Mendelssohn,” she said, tilting her head to the side slightly as she listened. “I always liked him, although not quite as much as Dvořák. I always thought Dvořák sounded a bit more _folky_ , more fun. I like Mendelssohn, but he always seemed more conservative somehow.”

Alex widened her eyes a little in surprise. “I didn't have you down as a classical music aficionado.”

“Oh I wouldn't say I was any kind of authority on the subject, I just like the piano. Well, I like the piano _now_ , I wasn't such a fan when my mother made me go to lessons every week between the ages of five and fifteen.”

“Ah,” Alex started. “So you had to like the piano by default.”

“Mmm. I hated it. I used to try and feign sickness most weeks to try and avoid going. I didn't enjoy it, but maybe because I didn't have any choice in going. I remember I broke my arm when I was nine and was absolutely thrilled because it meant I had a ten week piano vacation. Now, looking back, I'm glad she made me go. I can't play like this guy,” she pointed up into nothing, indicating the sounds filling the air around them, “but I have a good appreciation for what it is and I do find it relaxing. Playing as well as listening.”

“Do you still play?”

“Sometimes. Only for myself though, for pleasure, not profit. As with most things.” Piper smiled as she said this, then lowered her eyes from Alex's gaze and took another sip of wine.

“What other hidden talents do you have?”

Piper grinned. “I'm not sure I have a _talent_ with the piano, to be fair. I find it relaxing, but I'm not about to put on any public performances.”

“Well the piano is just over in that corner,” Alex tilted her wine glass across the table, indicating the direction. “I'm sure Sophia wouldn't mind you stepping in for a quick go when Anton goes on his break if you change your mind.”

Piper shook her head, her smile matching Alex's. “I'll pass, thank you. How about you? Do you play?”

“I play nothing,” Alex replied. “I'm completely tone deaf. I tried to play the drums once, but apparently I have no rhythm either.”

“You should try the piano, you might surprise yourself.”

Alex grinned. “I'd surprise myself if I ever found myself sitting in front of a piano, that's for damn sure. No way kid, not a chance.”

“Oh but...”

“No buts.”

“ _But_ ,” Piper began again, she reached out and took hold of Alex's left hand, her voice soft as she continued, “I bet you'd be really good at it. You have such elegant hands, such long, graceful fingers. I could show you how...”

As she spoke, Piper turned Alex's hand over in hers, examining it, her thumb gently stroking along the length of her middle finger. When she finished speaking she took a second or two until she looked up at Alex's face.

Alex's eyes were dark, her pupils large. For a moment, Piper thought this was because of the subdued lighting in the bar but then she noticed something else in Alex's eyes, a glint that she hadn't seen before. She noticed how her breathing had become marginally more rapid, noticed how her fingers had curled around her own and how her short thumbnail was now dragging lightly across her palm.

For a long moment the two women just looked at each other, until Piper bit the inside of her bottom lip and looked away shyly. Alex released her hand and took another sip of wine. She cleared her throat quietly before speaking again.

“So, no. I don't play the piano.”

Piper nodded quickly, keeping her eyes averted and drank some more wine. More of a mouthful than a sip this time.

Alex smiled, watching her, then frowned as a thought struck her.

“I don't know your surname.”

“Excuse me?”

“It just occurred to me, I don't know your surname. And if you're going to, ah, show me what to do with my fingers, I should at least know your surname.”

Piper blushed a dark shade of red and just about managed to blurt out “Chapman. It's Chapman.”

Alex watched Piper for a couple of seconds, then smiled and spoke softly. “You're very pretty when you blush, Piper Chapman.”

“You're quite good at making me do that.”

Alex smiled more and lifted Piper's hand, then brushed her lips against her knuckles and murmured “Let's go, Pipes.”

Alex stood and Piper did the same, not letting go of Alex's hand. Alex led them out of Sophia's, blowing a kiss to the woman behind the counter as they left. They said goodbye to Reggie and made their way up the steps in the darkness and back out onto the street.

Alex squeezed the other woman's hand a little tighter as they set off on the walk back to Piper's apartment. After a couple of minutes of walking in silence, Alex spoke up.

“Do you like to dance, Piper Chapman?”

“Dance?”

“Yeah. It's where you, like, move your body rhythmically to match the beat and tempo of music.”

Piper tutted and bumped her shoulder against Alex's. “Smartass.”

“I _did_ warn you about that.”

“You did.”

“So, dancing?”

“Yeah, I like dancing sometimes.”

“Well, I really have to work at the bar tomorrow night, but Friday I'm supposed to meet some friends at a club in the city. Do you, um, I mean… would...” Alex huffed out a breath, then inhaled slowly, steadying herself before she spoke again. “I'd like it if you came with me.” A pause, then, “If you're free.” Another pause, then quickly, “And want to, only if you want to.”

“Oh wow, I'd like to Alex, but I can't.”

Piper could feel the slight but immediate change in Alex, the tension that became evident as she continued to hold her hand, so continued “The problem is, that would officially be a third date and so we really should be buying those suitcases instead of dancing.”

Piper heard the short exhalation of breath that came from Alex, almost a laugh but not quite. “That was a dick move, Chapman.”

“I know,” Piper grinned. “But I can't let you have _everything_ your own way, can I.” She glanced across at Alex, then continued “I'd love to go dancing with you on Friday. Yes.”

Alex looked back at her, then squeezed her hand again. “Awesome,” she murmured.

A few minutes later they arrived outside Piper's building. Piper cast her eyes upwards towards her darkened apartment windows, Alex followed her gaze.

“So, Friday.” Alex said.

“Mmm.”

“I'll pick you up around ten?”

“Sure, yeah, sounds good.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

A silence descended and after a couple of seconds Alex smiled a little and looked at her feet, shaking her head as she scuffed the toe of her boot against the pavement.

“What?” Piper asked.

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You make me… awkward. Nervous. What's that about?”

“ _I_ make _you_ nervous?”

“Mmm. Hesitant.”

Alex raised her eyes and met Piper's. Piper bit her lip again, but took half a step closer to Alex.

“Don't be hesitant,” Piper murmured.

Alex held her hand a little tighter. Piper's tongue darted out to wet her lips and Alex saw this movement and stepped in closer. Keeping hold of Piper's hand in her left, Alex lifted her right hand and slowly moved it to the side of the blonde's neck. She brushed her thumb slowly along Piper's jaw and stepped even closer. Her gaze flicked from Piper's eyes to her lips and back again and she let out a slow breath before leaning closer.

She hesitated for just a moment, feeling Piper's breath warm against her lips, then closed the remaining gap and pressed her lips against Piper's, allowing her eyes to flutter closed. She felt Piper's hand move to rest on her hip, then a moment later her grip tighten. Alex parted her lips very slightly and touched the very tip of her tongue against Piper's lips, feeling them open at once in response. Encouraged, Alex slid her hand from Piper's neck back into her hair and scratched her fingernails against the blonde woman's scalp as she deepened the kiss.

Alex released Piper's hand and moved her own up to cup the other woman's jaw. She tentatively pushed her tongue between Piper's lips and immediately felt Piper's tongue meet her own. She heard a small moan, but if asked who it had come from would honestly not be able to say.

When she broke the kiss a few seconds later, a thin string of saliva stretched between them from Piper's lip to her own, keeping them linked. She smiled slightly, then brushed her thumb gently over Piper's bottom lip, breaking the connection. She found both of Piper's hands were gripping the lapels of her jacket, keeping her close. Her eyes explored Piper's face for a moment, then she let out an unsteady breath before leaning in and kissing Piper again, softly and slowly, their lips moving against each others, unhurried, almost savouring the taste of each other. When they pulled away a second time, Alex rested her forehead against Piper's for a moment, then brushed her lips along the blonde's cheekbone.

“Al?” Piper's voice was soft, quiet, almost a whisper.

“Yeah babe?” Alex murmured.

“That saliva thing? Not hot.”

Piper felt Alex's mouth form into a broad smile against her neck, then heard a quiet laugh. Alex lifted her head and looked at Piper.

“You're adorable, Chapman.”

Piper released her grip on Alex's jacket and smoothed her hands over the fabric, watching her own hands move as she tried to smooth the creases she'd created away.

“Sorry about your jacket,” Piper murmured.

Alex rested her hands on Piper's hips. “You're just trying to cop a feel, trying to get to second base so you can report back to Holly.”

“Polly.”

“Piper I was looking for a denial!” Alex grinned, trying to sound indignant but unable to keep the amusement from her voice.

Piper laughed, then rested her forehead on Alex's shoulder. They stayed that way for half a minute, silent, close, Piper's hands now safely around Alex's waist.

“Thank you for tonight,” Alex murmured.

“No, thank _you_.” Piper replied softly. “I had fun again tonight.”

“I'll see you on Friday.”

“Yeah.”

“But I might call you before then.”

“I'd like that.” Alex could hear the smile in Piper's voice.

Alex reluctantly took a step back a moment later. She looked at Piper, smiled softly, then kissed her on the corner of the mouth before turning and walking away into the night.

 


	5. 5

 

Piper found herself humming cheerfully as she readied herself for bed. She went into the bathroom to remove her make-up and caught herself smiling in the mirror. She grinned at her reflection and then brushed her teeth, sliding into bed soon after.

She lay on her left side for five minutes. Lay on her right side for five minutes. Lay on her back for just three before she reached for her phone and checked it for messages. Finding none, she replaced it on the bedside table. She remained on her back looking up at the dark ceiling for another two minutes and sighed heavily. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Alex. Thoughts of that kiss. Remembering how her lips felt against her cheek, her neck, her mouth. Remembering how Alex's hand slid into her hair, the feeling of her nails against her scalp, the way she cupped her jaw. The way she tasted. _Oh_ , _the way she tasted_. The way Alex held her, firm and yet gentle at the same time. _How is that even possible?_ She remembered resting her forehead against Alex's shoulder, the long dark hair brushing against her cheek, the faint smell of her perfume.

Piper trailed her fingers up and down, up and down, up and down her sternum. The tips of her fingers ghosting over her own skin, up and down, down lower, up and down, between her breasts, up and down, up and down, as she replayed the kiss again in her mind. The touch, the taste, the sensation of Alex's lips against her own. Her fingers dipped lower, beneath her breast, then up her sternum again. She remembered the warmth that seeped from Alex's body into her own, the way she held her, the sound of her breathing. Her fingers moved to the side, drawing a slow circle around her nipple, the touch so light it almost wasn't there. She remembered the touch of Alex's tongue against her own, the way Alex tilted her head as they kissed, the softness of her nose against her cheek. She allowed her fingertips to drift across her nipple, feeling the tautness of her skin as it rose to a firm peak, then pinched it gently between her thumb and fingertip.

She let her head roll to the side on her pillow, her eyes closed, lips parted slightly. She breathed out heavily as she pinched and pulled and rolled her nipple between her fingers, increasing the pressure. Her other hand began drawing lazy patterns on her lower abdomen, below her navel, fingernails dragging lightly over her skin. She shifted her hips slightly, then raised one knee, keeping her foot planted flat against the mattress. She remembered the moan, soft, quiet, as their tongues touched and couldn't hold back another one that escaped as she clenched her muscles, her thighs squeezing together, her raised left leg leaning over her right slightly. The hand that was drawing patterns on her abdomen moved lower, whilst the other began to knead her breast.

Behind her closed eyelids she pictured Alex. Her smile, her impossibly green eyes, the way she used her third finger to push against the bridge of her glasses when they slid down her nose, the _almost_ dimple in her left cheek, the way she looked at her, the way she said her name, the way she smelled, the way she tasted. Piper's fingers dipped beneath the top of her panties, slowly moving further south, heading for the damp warmth that…

_Oh you **have** to be kidding me._

Piper stopped, her hands frozen in place against her skin. She slowly turned her head on the pillow and opened her eyes, watching her phone as it moved slightly over the surface of the bedside table driven by the vibrations from within. The screen was flashing, casting intermittent light into her bedroom. She slowly withdrew her hand from her panties and reached out for the phone, cursing it quietly for interrupting her.

Her intention was to turn it off immediately and return to the task at, uh, hand. As it were. She glanced at the screen, dropped the phone in surprise, then quickly snatched it up again before answering it.

“Alex?” she murmured.

“Hey Pipes.”

“Alex,” she said again, almost a sigh, but with a smile evident.

“You okay, kid?”

“Mmmm,” Piper murmured, pressing herself further into her mattress and wriggling to get comfortable. “I'm good.”

“Did I wake you?”

“Mmmnope.”

“You sure? You sound kinda dopey.”

“Not asleep, just...” her voice trailed off.

“Just?”

“Just, dreaming I guess.” Piper's voice was small and quiet.

Alex remained silent for a couple of seconds before speaking again, softer, with a hint of concern. “You sure you're okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah I'm okay.” Piper's voice still held that quiet, faraway timbre.

“I just called you to...” Alex paused, suddenly struck by what she was doing and cringed inwardly. “To say goodnight,” she finished, screwing her eyes closed, hating herself just a little bit for what she was doing, but still unable to help herself.

Piper stayed quiet for a moment. She smiled and held her phone a little tighter before replying “I almost invited you in for coffee, you know.”

“For coffee?”

“Mmm.”

“Wait though, for coffee or...” Alex paused, then placed heavy emphasis on the next two words, “ _For coffee._ ”

“Well now you'll never know, will you.” Piper replied, teasing.

“I like coffee,” Alex said.

“Me too.”

“Hot coffee.”

“Of course.”

“I bet you make amazing coffee.”

“I make it better for other people than I do for myself.”

There was a pause. A long, empty pause. Alex could hear Piper's breathing, soft over the phone line.

“Piper?”

“Mmm?”

“Were you _making coffee_ when I called?”

Piper stayed quiet, biting her lip to hold back a smile.

“Piper?”

“Yeah?”

“Were you?”

“Of course not,” she replied after a momentary pause. Then, switching to her 'teacher-voice', “It's far too late at night for highly caffeinated drinks.”

Alex couldn't help but laugh and Piper smiled at the sound. When Alex's laughter subsided and silence fell over the line again, Piper waited a moment before speaking. Softer again, but without concealing her smile.

“Goodnight, Al.”

Alex breathed out slowly, then smiled before she murmured “Night, Pipes.”

 

* * *

 

It was an hour after she returned from school the following day that her mother finally caught up with her.

“Have you forgotten how to return phone calls, Piper?” was her mother's opening salvo.

Piper sighed as she sat in her armchair. “Hi mom.”

“I'm calling to finalise the arrangements for Saturday.”

“I'm good thanks, mom. How are you?”

“Piper.” Her mother's voice showed her lack of amusement with just one word.

“Sorry,” she murmured, genuinely contrite.

“Daddy says we'll be arriving in the city no later than five pm. We'll pick you up then and drive straight out to the Forsbergs'. They're expecting us at seven.”

“I… I don't think I can make it, mom. I'm sorry, I have plans.”

“You're right, you do have plans. Your plans are dinner with the Forsbergs.”

“No, mom. I mean I have _other_ plans.” Piper didn't have any other plans, but the thought of spending the evening with her mother and father and the Forsbergs complete with Matthias was more than enough incentive to tell a little white lie.

“So cancel them.” This was an instruction, not a suggestion and Piper was fully aware of that.

“I can't cancel them, mom. It would mean letting people down.”

“People?” her mother started. “And exactly _which_ people are more important than your parents, Piper?”

Piper knew there was no answer she could give that would get her off the hook here, so she chose to remain silent.

Her mother took this silence as an answer in itself. “As I suspected. So we'll be there by five. Remember to dress appropriately, please. It's cocktails and dinner, so nothing too extravagant, but please do make the effort.”

“Mom,” Piper tried again, “I really don't...”

“That's enough, Piper. This isn't a discussion. Marjorie and Magnus are expecting you, as is Matthias.”

Piper rolled her eyes at the mention of his name. “Matthias really isn't my type you know,” she ventured.

“ _Type_ , Piper? Did you say _type_? Matthias Forsberg is one of the most eligible bachelors in the entire tri-state area. He comes from a very well respected family, he is intelligent, suave, handsome and charming, he holds a management position with one of the most prestigious blue chip companies on the east coast, and there are countless women who would give their right arm to spend an evening in his company. I'm not entirely sure why that means he's not your _type_ but if that really is the case then I suggest you revise your opinion of your _type_ without further delay.”

She lost Piper at the word _suave_. Her mother's words became dulled and indistinct as her mind immediately drifted to thoughts of Alex. Alex and her bar. Alex and her smile. Alex and her neighbours. Alex and her eyes. Alex and her lips. Alex and her kiss. _That_ kiss. Alex. _Alex_.

“Piper? Piper did you hear me?”

Piper was brought instantly back to the present from her reverie by her mother's sharp tone and the impatience obvious in her voice.

“Yes, yeah. Yes, I heard you.”

“So that's settled. We'll collect you around five on Saturday.”

“Wait, I...”

“Five pm, Piper.” Her mother's voice this time made it clear that the conversation was over. No further discussion would be entered into. No further dissent would be tolerated.

Piper sighed quietly, defeated.

“Piper?”

“Yes, mother.”

“Good. We'll see you then. Please be ready, you know how your father doesn't like to be kept waiting.”

Actually, Piper's father would wait as long as he had to for Piper. She'd always been daddy's little girl and could pretty much wrap him around her finger. But Piper's father was also married to Piper's mother and there was no doubting who wore the trousers in the Chapman household.

“Yes mother.”

“Bye darling. Kiss kiss.”

And with that, her mother ended the call, not waiting for Piper to respond.

Piper tossed the phone handset over onto the couch and closed her eyes as she banged her head against the back of the chair three times. She sighed as she looked up at the ceiling, frustrated and disappointed in herself for once more allowing her mother to make her feel like a twelve year old child again.

She hauled herself out of her chair and headed into the kitchen, peering into the fridge before stepping back and slamming the door closed. She briefly considered going for a run, but instead grabbed her cell phone from her handbag and sent a text to Polly.

_Carol 911._

She hit send and received a reply almost immediately.

_30mins. Your place._

She nodded at the screen, then placed it on the counter and moved into her bedroom, shedding her clothes along the way. She took a long hot shower, washed her hair, then dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants and her old, green, faded, high school hoody. She towel-dried her hair and pulled it up into a messy ponytail. She gathered up her discarded clothes, planted them in the laundry basket and hung her bath towel over the bathroom door to dry.

As she moved through into her loungeroom again, there was a knock on the door. She pulled the door open and found Polly on her doorstep, she held up a six pack of beer in one hand and a bag of Chinese food in the other.

“Never fear, Harper's here,” she announced as she sidled past Piper and into the apartment, going straight for the kitchen.

Piper grinned and pushed the apartment door closed again, then rested her forehead against the cool wood for a moment before turning and following her best friend into the kitchen.

Polly had already cracked open two of the cans of beer and placed the remaining four in the fridge when Piper joined her. She began pulling cartons of food out of the bag.

“Forks, Piper. We need forks. I'm not even attempting to eat noodles with drumsticks. Not tonight, not ever.”

“Chopsticks.”

“Whatever. I need a fucking fork.”

Piper pulled open the drawer and retrieved two forks, then picked up one of the cans of beer and drained a third of it in one go. Then belched. Loudly.

“Hot, Chapman. Classy as ever.”

Piper shrugged. “Fuck it.”

Polly watched as her friend grabbed a carton of food and made her way into the loungeroom and flopped into the armchair with her legs tucked under her. She picked up her own food and followed, making herself comfortable on the couch.

“So, what has the wicked witch done this time?”

Piper glanced at her friend and grunted, then dug in to her food.

“How does she always make me feel like a kid again?” she asked around a mouthful of noodles.

“Don't talk with your mouth full,” Polly replied.

Piper pointed at her with her fork in a threatening manner. “Don't _you_ fucking start, Pol.”

“Do you see what I did there? Do you? Do you see?” Polly grinned, proud of herself.

“Remind me again why I keep you around?”

“Because I'm awesome.”

“Are you sure that's it?”

“Hey!”

Piper smiled broadly, looking over at her friend.

“Thanks, Pol.” she said after a moment.

Polly just winked at her and continued eating her dinner. A couple of minutes later Piper relayed the tale of the Forsbergs' dinner and her compulsory attendance.

“Matthias Forsberg? Really?”

“Uh huh.”

“Ugh, he's such a douche.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Tiny dick, too.” Polly added, crooking her little finger for emphasis.

“ _Polly_!”

“What? He has!”

“How would _you_ know?”

“Somebody told me,” she said, before quickly shoving a forkful of noodles into her mouth. The blush that crept up her cheeks gave her away though.

Piper stared at her, eyes wide. “You haven't!”

Polly averted her eyes, suddenly interested in the contents of her carton of food.

“You. Have. _Not_!”

“It was just one time!” Polly finally replied.

“ _Polly_!”

“What? What, Pipe? I'm a woman, I have needs.”

“Yeah, but… Matthias? _Really_? You couldn't get those needs met by, I dunno, Barry or somebody?”

“Larry.”

“Whatever, you take my point.”

Polly shrugged. “Meh. There was alcohol involved, what can I tell ya?”

Piper pulled a face like she'd just sucked a lemon.

“Anyway,” Polly continued, “my point is I've already test driven that particular ride and I don't recommend it.”

“I wasn't thinking of giving it a go, but thanks for your efforts.”

“It was an effort too, believe me.”

“Please don't give me the details, Pol. Please. Don't make me beg...”

Polly grinned and took a swig of beer from her can. “So maybe you should just call your mother back and tell her there's no point going to dinner on Saturday, because your best friend has already fucked the Forsberg and declared him unworthy of you.”

“Oh yeah, she'd love that.” Piper smiled. “I can hear her lecture now and seriously, I don't need to hear it. A woman's duty and all that bullshit.”

“You're gonna have to go, you know. But just go, play nice and when Matthias makes his move just tell him you're not interested because you don't like a man who cries like a baby when he comes.”

Piper almost choked on her beer.

Polly shrugged, raising her eyebrows at the same time. “Real fucking tears. I'm not even kidding.”

Piper looked shocked then eventually managed to ask “What did you _do_?”

“I pushed him off me, threw a box of Kleenex at him and got the hell outta Dodge. What did you expect me to do?”

Polly got up and moved into the kitchen, grabbing another two beers from the fridge as Piper's laughter filled the apartment. When she returned to the loungeroom, she handed Piper a beer and sat on the couch again.

“You could just take lots of pocket packs of Kleenex with you and pull a pack out of your bag every time he even approaches you. Wave them at him. He'd soon get the message.”

Piper grinned and watched as her friend leant forward and grabbed the TV remote from the coffee table. She jabbed at the power button as she spoke. “Or you could just be honest, tell him he's a douchebag and therefore not your type. Speaking of type, though, how…” she paused, poking the TV remote again and again, a little harder now, trying to get the TV to respond. “Fucking thing, what's wrong with this? How're things with Alex?”

She glanced at Piper, then turned the control over in her hands, unclipping the back from the battery compartment. “His name was Alex wasn't it?”

Before Piper could reply, Polly threw her hands up. “There are no fucking batteries in it, Piper! That's why it isn't working. Where are the batteries?”

Piper looked at the remote control in pieces in Polly's hand, opened her mouth to reply, then looked away, a blush creeping up her cheeks. “Uhhhh,” she mumbled. “Wait right there.”

Unable to make eye contact with her friend, she stood and made her way into the bedroom. Polly heard the sound of a drawer opening and closing, a quiet click and some shuffling sounds, then Piper returned and dropped two AA batteries into Polly's hand as she made her way back to her chair.

Polly looked at the batteries for a moment, frowning. “What…? _Oh_. Oh you _didn't_.”

Piper raised her eyebrows and avoided eye contact as she looked around the room, then cracked open her new can of beer. She cleared her throat quietly and didn't respond, just took a long drink of beer.

“Piper Chapman!”

Piper still didn't reply, just looked out of the apartment window, smirking.

“Seriously Pipe. You robbed the remote to feed the rabbit?”

“It was an emergency. Blame Alex.”

 

* * *

 

Polly left Piper's apartment a little after eight thirty, promising to call on Sunday to see how the dinner at the Forsbergs' had gone. Piper was resigned to having to attend, but felt better now for having vented at Polly and received validation that her anger towards her mother was justified.

She was seated on the couch marking some schoolwork when her phone rang shortly before ten, Alex's name appearing on her screen.

“Hey,” she said as she answered.

“Hey Pipes,” Alex's voice was quiet. “How're you doing?”

“I'm okay. Working. You?”

“Yeah, same. I, uh… I just wanted to...” her voice trailed off and Piper waited, listening to the silence. “I just wanted to say hi,” Alex finally finished.

Piper paused for a moment before replying. “You sure you're okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I'm fine.” Alex frowned, then added “I appear to have developed a condition where I say everything twice, but otherwise I'm okay.”

Piper smiled softly. “I noticed that.”

“I keep looking over at the door every time it opens, wondering if you're gonna come walking through it.”

Piper remained silent, a little surprised by Alex's admission.

“Well. I say _wondering_ , but I guess _hoping_ would be more accurate.”

“I have so much work to do, Alex, I really can't tonight.”

“I know, it's okay. I have so much work, too. We're really busy tonight. If you came through the door now I'd only be pissed off that I couldn't spend time with you. I'm actually calling you from the bathroom,” Alex admitted. “But I washed my hands, don't worry.”

Piper smiled. “I'm happy to hear that.” A moment later she added, “And your voice.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Me too.”

Both women fell silent for a few seconds. It was Alex who next spoke again. “I better go. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Piper replied.

“Okay. See ya, Pipes.”

“Alex?” Piper spoke quickly, before the other woman could end the call.

“Yeah?”

“If you want to call again later, after you finish work, that'd be… okay.”

She banged her closed fist against her forehead a moment after speaking, eyes closed. _Okay. Christ, Piper, sell it why dontcha._

“Okay?” Alex asked.

“Well, yeah. I mean. Yeah.” Piper wondered why her words had deserted her and cursed herself for it.

“Okay,” Alex replied, smiling. “I might just do that.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. Bye, Piper.”

Piper's voice was quiet as she said goodbye, then listened as Alex ended the call.

 

* * *

 

At ten past one in the morning, Piper was in bed and almost asleep when she was disturbed by the vibration of her phone on her bedside table. She reached an arm out from under the covers and picked up the phone.

_Hey kid. Didn't want to call in case you were asleep. It was a late finish at the bar. Didn't want you to wake in the morning thinking I just hadn't bothered to call though. A.x_

Piper composed a reply immediately.

_Mwake._

She blinked a couple of times, trying to get her eyes to focus clearly on the message she'd just sent, groaning quietly when she saw it.

_You sure? ;)_

Alex had apparently deciphered her message anyway. Fortunately.

Piper rolled onto her back and pressed the button on her phone to call Alex, it was answered straight away.

“Hey sleepy.”

“Mmmhey.”

“Did I wake you?”

“Not really. Almost. No.”

Alex smiled. “You're kinda cute when you're sleepy.”

“Only when I'm sleepy?”

“Not only.”

“Mmmgood.”

“Go back to sleep, Pipes.”

“Mmmkay.”

“I'll call you tomorrow.”

“You will?”

“I will.”

“I'd like that.”

Alex smiled again, listening to the sleep creep up on the other woman.

“Al?”

“Yeah?”

“Nothing.”

Alex paused, listening to Piper's breathing before murmuring “G'night, Piper.”

“Mmmnight.”

Alex ended the call a few seconds later and Piper slept with the phone in her hand again.

 


	6. 6

Lunchtime the following day brought a text from Alex that simply read: _Pick you up at 10. A.x_

The entire day seemed to drag for Piper. After school she changed into her running gear and killed an hour running laps around the nearby park, but time still seemed to be passing at an infuriatingly slow pace as she waited for ten o'clock to arrive.

At nine thirty, Piper sat in the chair in her apartment watching the street through the window. She'd gone for a run, eaten, taken a bath, dressed in four different outfits before finally deciding on one, applied her makeup, styled her hair and was halfway through her fourth vodka and lime as she watched for Alex's arrival.

At two minutes to ten, Piper saw Alex as she rounded the corner and strode towards her building. She watched as Alex pulled her phone from the pocket of her coat and tapped on the screen as she approached. She shouldn't have been surprised when her own phone vibrated in her hand a moment later, but she jumped a little anyway.

_Am outside your building._

Piper read the message, drained her fifth vodka and lime and considered replying in a slightly different way than Alex expected. For just a brief moment, fortified by vodka, she considered inviting Alex up, offering her a drink, putting some music on and spending some time dancing here, in her apartment instead of the club, just the two of them. They could let the evening take them where it wanted, without the distraction of other people around, have a drink, a dance, get to know each other even better.

She glanced out of the window at Alex who was now waiting on the pavement outside her building, stamping her feet a little to keep warm, her hands shoved deep in her coat pockets. She looked at Alex, then her phone, back to Alex again and then grabbed her coat and keys and hurried out of her apartment and down the stairs.

Piper burst through the main doors of the building and spilled onto the street, hurrying down the last few steps to Alex, who gave her a curious smile as she approached.

Piper, feeling a little buzzed by alcohol, greeted Alex cheerfully and told her how good it was to see her. Alex leaned in and brushed her lips against Piper's cheek, as Piper slipped her arm through Alex's.

“It's good to see you too, Pipes.” Alex murmured close to her ear before pulling back. The two of them began walking back toward the busier main street where they hoped it would be easier to hail a cab.

“Where are we going?” Piper asked.

“Into the city, the club's called _Panguru_. I haven't been before, Nicky knows someone doing a DJ set there tonight so we're on the guest list. Set starts at midnight, I think.”

“Who'll be there? Is Nicky going?”

“Yeah, Nicky'll be there. A few others. Six or seven more I think.”

Piper's eyes widened slightly and her hold on Alex's arm tightened a little, but she said nothing in response.

Alex noticed and glanced sideways at the other woman. “You'll be fine, don't worry. I don't intend letting you out of my sight all night. Stick with me, kid.”

She smiled as she raised her arm and hailed a taxi, holding the door open for Piper then sliding into the back seat after her. She leaned forward and gave the name and address of the club to the driver, then sat back beside the other woman.

“You forgot your suitcase,” Alex said a minute later.

Piper laughed quietly, then looked across at Alex who smiled back at her. “Relax, babe. We're gonna have a good night.”

She reached across and slid her hand into Piper's, holding it on the seat between them. Piper turned her head to the window, hiding her grin from Alex. It wasn't the first time Alex had called her 'babe', but it was the first time Alex had called her 'babe' when she had five vodkas seeping into her bloodstream. She kinda liked it. It kinda made her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside and made her grin this silly grin that she couldn't seem to shake.

They arrived at the club after a fifteen minute journey and Alex squeezed Piper's hand before releasing it and paying the driver. She waited for Piper to exit the car then took her hand again as they moved to the front of the queue and gave their names to one of the doormen. He unhooked a velvet rope and ushered them through, Piper keeping her head low to avoid the glares of the people in the line queuing in the cold for entrance. They checked their coats then made their way through a set of double doors and were greeted immediately by the dull thud of a heavy bass line that Piper could feel reverberating in her chest. Alex kept a tight hold of Piper's hand as she weaved her way through the crowd in the club heading for the bar. Once there, she caught the attention of one of the bartenders and ordered drinks for them both – Piper sticking with the vodka and lime she'd started on earlier. Mixing her drinks never ended well for Piper, so tonight was definitely a vodka night.

After collecting their drinks, Alex took Piper's hand again and guided her through the mass of people, occasionally standing on her tiptoes to see over heads as she looked for her friends. After a couple of minutes, Piper noticed she was being pulled more purposefully through the crowd and a moment later, she heard loud voices and laughter as Alex was greeted by her friends who were all crowded into a semi-circular booth around a large round table. Piper stood back a little as women leaned across the table, either hugging or high-fiving Alex, until she heard a familiar voice yelling for her attention.

She looked around to see Nicky, her hair as untamed as ever, patting the seat beside her in the booth. “Come sit with me Blondie, you're the one I wanted here tonight, not my fucking boss.”

Alex threw Nicky the finger but Piper did as she was told and moved into the booth beside Nicky, placing her drinks on the table. Alex sat beside her on the end of the bench seat as Nicky took the lead in introducing Piper to the rest of the group. There was no way Piper was going to remember the names of all of the women sitting around the table, but fortunately there didn't seem to be that expectation. Nicky introduced her as “ _Piper, who is destined to spend the night with me if I can unglue her from Vause's fucking grip for just_ _five_ _minutes_ ”, which resulted in Alex draping an arm around her shoulder whilst jokingly telling Nicky to “ _back the fuck down, bitch_ ”. At least, Piper _thought_ it was jokingly. Piper shrugged at Nicky and moved a little closer to Alex, who flashed a smug, victorious smile at her friend.

Piper was quite happy to take a back seat and spent the next hour sitting close to Alex, listening to the conversation flow around her, occasionally chipping in but mainly observing the interactions between Alex and her friends. She sipped at her drinks, pacing herself, despite feeling like she could do with more than a little fortification if she was going to sit pulled into Alex's side like this all night and not fall to pieces completely. Alex was relaxed around her friends and laughed easily with them, Piper liked seeing her this way, relaxed and happy with no evidence of the nervousness that occasionally showed itself when in her company.

After about an hour, Alex leaned closer to Piper and spoke into her ear. “You okay, kid?”

Piper smiled and nodded.

“You gonna dance with me?”

Piper turned her head and looked at Alex. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Come on.” Alex stood, offering her hand to Piper who smiled as she took it and followed Alex through the other patrons and on to the crowded dance-floor.

They had no choice but to dance closely, the sheer volume of other people around them forcing them against each other. Piper smiled as she danced, letting the music envelop her, raising her arms high above her head as she moved with the beat. Three songs later, Alex managed to move behind Piper and danced even closer to the other woman, her hands resting on the blonde's hips as they moved together in time with the music. Piper's smile grew wider as she pressed against Alex, feeling the soft swell of her breasts against her back. She deliberately moved her hips, grinding back against the brunette, smiling even more when she felt the hold on her hips grow tighter and felt Alex match her movements. Piper rested her head back against Alex's shoulder, turning her face to the side, her lips seeking contact with the other woman's neck. Before she could even register what was happening, she found herself turned around again, face to face with the slightly taller woman. She lifted her chin slightly and their lips met, tentatively at first but quickly with more fervour. Her arms looped around Alex's neck, her hips still moving in time with the music. Alex's hands had moved and were now either side of her face, thumbs moving across her cheekbones as her fingers reached into her hair, holding her in place as their lips clashed.

In that moment, it felt as if they were the only two people in the room. The sounds and smells and heat of the other people surrounding them, the loud music, the thumping bass, all of it faded to the background as Piper lost herself in Alex. Her arms that were looped around Alex's neck moved down and she clutched at the brunette's back, her fingernails tearing at the fabric of her dress as she desperately tried to pull her closer. There was nothing gentle about this kiss. It was rough and frantic and desperate, teeth clashing and tongues warring for dominance as both women surrendered to the _want_ that consumed them both.

When they finally broke apart, they stayed close, both women looking deep into the eyes of the other. Alex was breathing heavily, her pupils were large and dark, Piper's hands still clutching at her back.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Alex breathed.

“What, _now,_ in front of all these people?” Piper responded cheekily, her lips forming a grin.

Alex smiled, ran her tongue along her lower lip, then murmured “Don't tempt me,” before closing the gap and kissing Piper again, slower this time, taking her time and savouring the taste of the blonde woman, noticing the slight tang of lime on her lips. She caught Piper's lower lip between her teeth, tugging it gently as she pulled away.

She took hold of Piper's hand again, intertwining their fingers and led her from the dance-floor. back to their table. Piper slid into the booth, reaching for her drink again. She examined the glass for a moment, surprised she still had so much left, then drained it. Alex sat beside her, pushed Piper's hair back behind her ear then leaned in and asked “Another?”

Piper turned her face and captured Alex's lips with her own, kissing her slowly. “Oh! You meant a drink!” she grinned as she pulled away.

Alex slid her hand from Piper's knee to mid-thigh, then stopped, squeezing gently. She bit her bottom lip, leaned towards Piper again as if to kiss her, then pulled away shaking her head and laughing quietly.

“You're trouble, Chapman,” she grinned, then stood and started making her way back to the bar.

Piper laughed and sat back, ran her hands through her hair and watched Alex walk away.

“BLONDIE!” Piper jumped a little as Nicky bounded into the seat beside her. “At frickin' last! I thought she was never gonna leave you alone with me.”

Piper looked around quickly, then smiled nervously at Nicky. “Umm, well, judging by the queue at the bar, you probably have five minutes. Ten, maybe.”

“I don't need that many minutes, Blondie. Just a couple.”

“What's up?”

“What's the deal with you and Vause?”

“Deal?”

“Yeah, what's the deal. What's the story, the skinny, the scoop, the dope.”

“Um, I'm not sure there's any story really...”

“No? Well lemme tell ya, Blondie. There's some kinda deal from where I'm sitting and I'm not sure you get it, so I'm gonna spell it out for ya.”

Piper looked over in the direction of the bar, trying to see Alex, but couldn't see her through the sea of people between them.

“Piper.”

She looked back at Nicky quickly, surprised that she used her real name, noting the distinct change in her tone too. Nicky leaned closer, her mouth close to Piper's ear ensuring she'd be heard.

“Last time she brought anyone out to meet the gang like this, it was six years ago.” Nicky sat back and looked at Piper, making sure she'd heard her.

Piper frowned, not certain she'd heard correctly. Nicky watched her, then nodded slowly. Piper's eyes widened and she turned to look toward the bar again, only turning back when Nicky placed her hand on her arm and leaned close once more.

“So if this is just a bit of a game for you, Piper, be sure you know the stakes, yeah?”

Piper shook her head quickly, looking at the other woman. “It isn't a game. I swear it isn't a game.”

“No? You sure about that?”

Piper looked at Nicky and frowned. There was a definite change in Nicky's demeanour, the lighthearted tone had vanished and she was looking at her intently.

“It isn't a game, Nicky.” She was telling the truth, but felt guilty saying the words and couldn't work out why.

“So she knows you're having dinner with Matty Forsberg tomorrow, yeah?”

Piper's mouth fell open. Literally. She just stared at the other woman in complete surprise, unable to formulate a reply.

Nicky nodded slowly, then repeated her earlier words. “Six years, Piper. _Six_.”

Piper's brain finally clicked into gear. “Wait, wait Nicky. No no, you've got this wrong. It isn't what you think.”

“Let me tell you what I think, shall I? I think she really likes you, like, likes you _a lot._ And I think that if you fuck her over, then I'll be unhappy about that. That wouldn't be cool, Piper. So. Not. Cool.”

“I'm not going to fuck her over. I'm not.” Piper's voice sounded desperate even to her own ears. “Tomorrow, Matthias, it isn't like that. It really isn't like that, I swear to you.”

“Don't fuck her over, Piper.” Nicky's voice was low when she spoke and she looked Piper straight in the eye. Piper heard the unspoken warning loud and clear.

She shook her head quickly. “You've got it all wrong. I promise you, it isn't like that.”

Piper rubbed a hand over her forehead, suddenly feeling a little lightheaded. She looked at Nicky again, shaking her head slower this time. “Whatever you've heard, it's wrong. Well, kind of wrong. I mean, I am going for dinner there tomorrow night...”

“I know.”

“...but it isn't happening the way you're making it sound. I don't even want to go!” She paused and rubbed her forehead again.

_How does Nicky even know this? This is ridiculous. This stupid fucking dinner is going to ruin my chances with Alex and it's not even my fault. I need to see Alex. I need to tell her. Oh God, I don't feel good. Why is Nicky looking at me like that? I don't even want to go to the fucking dinner. This is all my mother's fault. Damn her! Fuck, I feel hot. I need some air. I need to see Alex. I need to tell Nicky I'm not fucking her. Wait. Not fucking her over. Over._

“I'm not over her,” Piper blurted. _No wait. That's not right._

“Fucking her, I mean.” _Shit. Still not right._

_Stop, Piper. Stop and think and get the words right in your head before you talk them. Speak them. Say them. Brain in gear, mouth in action._

“I'm not fucking her over.” She spoke slowly and clearly, making sure she got the words right. “I'm going out with my parents tomorrow, Matthias will be there too, but it's dinner with my parents, not with Matthias.”

She breathed out a sigh of relief, grateful that she'd been able to order the words correctly.

“He has a tiny dick,” she added as an afterthought. _What the fuck? Why did I say that?_

Nicky tilted her head to the side, looking at Piper strangely. She leaned a little closer. “Are you okay? You've gone kinda pale.”

“I'm telling the truth!” Piper's voice was shrill, she heard that herself, her volume raised.

“Yeah, I got that. But seriously, you've gone white. And you're sweating something bad. You sure you're okay? How much have you had to drink?”

Piper stared at Nicky, she could see her lips moving but the words weren't making any sense to her. She shook her head as if to shift the fog that was clouding her brain, but when she looked at Nicky again she just saw concern in the other woman's face and still couldn't understand what she was saying.

“I don't feel good,” she managed to say, leaning her head back against the wall behind her.

“Alex.” She sat up again, her eyes darting around quickly. “Where's Alex?”

She stood up to go and find her, but stumbled as she did. Her balance and co-ordination were all wrong. _I don't feel good. I really… I don't… how much have I had to drink? I feel so hot. This isn't right._ She felt Nicky's hand on her arm, steadying her, making her sit down again, her lips were still moving but the words were blurred as they came out of her mouth and made no sense. She watched as Nicky half stood, raised her arm to somebody, shouted and gestured them over.

Piper looked up to see Alex approaching, shouldering her way through the crowd of people, holding two more drinks in her hands.

She smiled as Alex approached, murmured her name, closed her eyes and… nothing.

 

* * *

 

When Piper next opened her eyes, she found she was in bed.

_A_ bed. Not her own.

Light was filtering through a set of horizontal blinds over a large window. She moved her head slowly, taking in her surroundings.

The room was large, with two wardrobes and two sets of drawers along one wall. Beneath the window was a desk with a chair. Against a third wall was an old, battered leather armchair. The chair had a dress and a coat carelessly discarded on it. There was something about the dress that looked familiar but it took a few more seconds before Piper realised it was _her_ dress. With a sense of trepidation she slowly lifted the doona and peered beneath it at herself. She found she was wearing her underwear. Nothing else.

_Oh shit._

She lay very still, silent, trying to recall the events of the previous evening and trying desperately to work out what had happened and where she was. She went to a club, with Alex. With Alex and her friends. She had fun, she danced. She danced with Alex. She kissed Alex. A lot.

She moved her hands and rubbed her fingertips in small circles over her temples. As hard as she tried, she just couldn't recall any other memories of the night before. She had no idea where she was. Or where her phone was. Or her purse. Or Alex.

_Oh shit shit shit._

She slowly sat up, swinging her legs out of bed. Her head felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer. The light that was sneaking through the blinds was incredibly bright and making her eyes hurt. She let out a quiet groan as she leaned forward, elbows on her knees as she rubbed her hands over her face.

“Pipes?”

She lifted her head quickly on hearing her name and looked to the door.

Alex stood in the open doorway, leaning against the frame. Piper was so relieved to see her she almost burst into tears right then and there.

“You okay?” Alex's voice was soft, gentle.

“I don't know.” Piper answered honestly, her own voice sounded brittle.

Alex pushed away from the door and tentatively made her way toward the bed. She grabbed a t-shirt from one of the drawers as she passed and handed it to Piper.

“Here you go, kid. Put this on.”

Piper suddenly remembered her state of undress and quickly grabbed the t-shirt, pulling it on to cover her body, and her embarrassment. She managed to mumble a thank you, just.

Alex sat beside her on the bed, her hands folded in her lap. After a couple of seconds, Piper glanced at her then looked away. “I''m so sorry,” she whispered.

“For what?”

“I don't know,” Piper replied honestly. “For everything. I can't remember anything after our dance. I've just… lost… everything.”

Alex slowly moved her arm and placed her hand on Piper's back between her shoulder blades, rubbing gently. “You're okay,” she murmured.

Piper shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.

“You're okay,” Alex repeated, her voice soft, hand still rubbing Piper's back. “I gotcha.”

Piper turned her head and leaned into Alex, resting her head on her shoulder. Alex slid her arm around Piper's shoulder and held her gently. They sat in silence for almost half a minute until Alex spoke again, keeping her voice soft.

“Your drink was spiked, kid. I don't know what with and I don't know who did it, but I know that it was. Not just yours, either. Cindy was in a mess too, a few minutes after you.”

Alex felt Piper frown against her shoulder, but that was her only response. She was thinking back to the previous evening, drinking, leaving her glass on the table when she went to dance with Alex, coming back to the table, being surprised that she hadn't drank as much as she thought she had, draining what was left of her drink in one go.

“Shit.” She muttered.

Alex remained quiet, her thumb gently stroking up and down on the skin of Piper's upper arm.

“Where am I?” Piper sat up, looking around the room again. “How did I get here?”

“You're at my place. You were out of it at the club, Nicky helped me get you back here. We could've gone to your apartment, but I didn't feel good about leaving you, so we came back here instead.” She paused before continuing, “I, ah, put you to bed and then hit the couch.”

Piper groaned. “Oh, God. I'm so sorry.”

“Don't. It's okay. Nicky was pretty keen to undress you, but I kicked her out don't worry.”

“ _You_ took my clothes off?” Piper could hardly make eye contact with the other woman, such was her embarrassment.

“Mmm.”

“ _God_.”

“I could've left you in your dress, but honestly? Honestly Pipes, I thought, well...” Alex's voice trailed off, as if she were losing her nerve.

Piper looked at her and frowned. “What?”

Alex took a deep breath. “Honestly, I thought, okay this isn't how I pictured how this would go, but it's okay that I'm doing this, because… well. Well, because it's not going to be the only time I'm doing it. And next time, you won't mind. And if you don't mind next time, then you wouldn't mind this time.”

Piper listened and really thought about this. Eventually she looked at Alex and gave her a half-smile. “That's some logic, Al.”

Alex shrugged one shoulder and smirked a little.

“Some confidence you have there, too.”

“Am I wrong?”

Piper looked at Alex again, a rush of thoughts running through her mind at once. She thought about the previous night, about how she'd ended up here, about Alex taking care of her, about Alex undressing her. She bit the inside of her lip, aware of the colour rising up her cheeks.

She looked away and shook her head gently. “I don't think so,” she replied.

Alex's smirk turned into a genuine smile and the arm she had around Piper tightened ever so slightly. They sat in silence for a few more seconds.

“Thanks, Alex.” Piper's voice was no more than a whisper.

Alex pressed her lips to the top of Piper's head, letting them linger.

“I gotcha, babe.”

 

 


	7. 7

 

Breakfast was in Alex's kitchen. Strong coffee and fruit toast. Alex had offered to take her out for breakfast, but Piper declined. Her clothing options were last night's dress and heels or the _Audioslave_ t-shirt Alex had loaned her. She had no idea who or what _Audioslave_ was, but thought going out for breakfast wearing just a t-shirt probably wasn't socially acceptable behaviour.

Alex filled in more of the blanks in Piper's memory from the previous evening as they ate, even managing to draw a small laugh from Piper as she explained Nicky's enthusiasm when discussing whether or not they should undress Piper or let her sleep fully clothed.

“I can tell I'm gonna have to watch her around you,” Alex smiled. “Be sure she doesn't steal you away from me.”

Piper shook her head, smiling shyly. “I don't think I'm Nicky's type.”

Alex laughed at this. “You have a pulse, Pipes. That means you tick all of her boxes.”

Piper smiled again and sipped her coffee, turning to look out of Alex's apartment window.

“Steal me away from you,” she mused, quietly. “Hmm.”

She didn't look over at Alex, so didn't see the slight blush creep up her cheeks as she realised just what she'd said. Saying Nicky could steal Piper away suggested Piper was hers to be stolen. This notion hadn't escaped Piper either, but neither of them were keen to address it head on right at that moment. Piper looked down over the garden where they'd spent their first evening together, the first time she'd seen it in daylight.

Daylight.

_Damn._

“What time is it?” She asked, turning back to look at Alex.

Checking the time on her phone, Alex replied “Twelve thirty,” then on seeing the slight grimace pass over Piper's face added, “Why? Somewhere you need to be?”

Piper looked at Alex for a moment, then back out of the apartment window. It would take her about half an hour to walk home, then she needed to shower and change ahead of her parents picking her up at five. She was okay for time at the moment.

“No,” she replied. “It's all good.”

She thanked Alex quietly as she topped up her coffee mug, her thoughts drifting back to the previous evening. An image of Nicky leaning close, speaking to her sternly, flashed into her mind, then another, something about six years and Matthias Forsberg. She couldn't make any sense of it. Couldn't connect the dots.

Frowning, she looked over at Alex again, watching as she replaced the milk in the fridge. She couldn't shake the feeling that Nicky was mad at her, but this didn't gel with Alex's description of her wanting to take her clothes off. None of it made any sense.

“Are you working later?” Piper asked quietly.

“Nope, not tonight. Saturdays are busy as hell. I leave that shit to my employees.” Alex grinned. “Perk of being the boss: delegation.”

Piper sipped her coffee, watching Alex over the rim of her mug, her mind ticking over. On the one hand, she had to go home and get ready and go for dinner with her parents. On the other, she felt a little like she'd been robbed of an evening with Alex last night, thanks to the events that transpired and the subsequent gargantuan hole in her memory.

“Do you know where my phone is?” Piper asked, a moment later.

“In your coat pocket,” Alex replied, already moving toward her bedroom. “I'll get it.”

“No, it's okay. I just...” Piper trailed off as Alex stopped and turned to look at her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I'm… I'm okay. I'm just...” she paused briefly. In her mind she was standing at a fork in the road, it was time to choose a path. “I'm just wondering if you want to do something later. Tonight. With me.”

She watched as a smile started to form on Alex's face, then saw this turn to a look of uncertainty.

“I'd love to, but don't you have something else planned? I'm sure Nicky told me you had dinner plans somewhere. Are you asking me to dinner?”

“ _God_ no, I wouldn't inflict that on you.”

Alex raised a questioning eyebrow, so Piper quickly explained. “Dinner with my parents. I'm still at the stage where I'm trying to keep you interested, not scare you away.”

Alex grinned. “Thanks for the consideration, but I think you're pretty safe.”

“Seriously. They want to drag me out to dinner with some friends of theirs in The Hamptons. Do I look to you like the kind of person who would enjoy dinner in The Hamptons?”

“Well, I don't know about _enjoy_ ,” Alex began, “but I bet you wouldn't look out of place.”

Piper shook her head, pulling a face that clearly showed her distaste. “It's all so fake,” she said. “All air kisses and calling people _daaah-ling;_ who has the biggest house, the biggest car, the biggest bank balance. The Old Boys Network, ladies who lunch, marrying _up_ and only ever to _old_ money. Like any of that stuff actually _matters_.”

Alex moved to sit on a stool alongside the counter, watching and listening to Piper rant.

“My mother believes the only way a woman can truly achieve success is to marry a man who is successful, financially and socially. Someone who can provide for her, whilst at the very least matching her status. The concept that a woman can be successful _without_ a man in the picture is completely alien to her. She measures success in a way that infuriates me and in a way which means that to her, I will never ever achieve anything great.”

Piper paused and glanced over at Alex. “Well, unless I get hit by a bus and she marries me off to Matthias Fucking Forsberg while I'm in a coma.”

Alex nodded slowly, then rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Interesting middle name,” she said. “Slavic origin, or Germanic?”

She gave Piper a slight smile, then reached out and covered her hand with her own, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I'd love to do something later. Tonight. With you.”

Piper ducked her head, smiling a little as she realised Alex was using her own words and phrasing back at her. “Sorry,” she murmured. “Sometimes I don't have an off switch.”

“Don't apologise for being passionate, kid. It's a great attribute. Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.”

Piper looked up at Alex and tilted her head slightly. “I like that,” she said. “ _Nothing great in the world…?_ ”

“... _has been accomplished without passion_.” Alex finished.

Piper smiled, nodding, then repeated “I like that. A lot.”

Alex watched her for a moment, her lips twitching into a smile. “I'd love to take the credit, but I can't. Those are Hegel's words, a German philosopher, not mine.”

Piper grinned and raised an eyebrow. “You're quoting German philosophers at me?”

“Are you impressed?”

“Mightily.”

Alex smiled broadly, released Piper's hand and fist punched the air by her side in mock celebration. Both women laughed quietly.

“As impressed as I am, I should still think about going home,” Piper said a moment later. “I need to work out how to tell my mother I'm skipping out on dinner with the Forsbergs.”

Alex frowned slightly, then spoke hesitantly. “It's okay if you have to go, you know. We can do something another night.”

“No!” Piper was quick to reply. Then softer, “No, Alex. Let's do something tonight. You and me.”

Alex smiled, a small grateful, relieved smile. “Okay,” she said. “Let's do that.”

 

* * *

 

Piper caught a cab. It was preferable to walking home in Alex's t-shirt and a loaned pair of sweatpants and running shoes that were two sizes too big for her. She gave the driver her address and pulled her phone from her pocket.

_Need your help. Serious. Big help._

She hit send on the text message and sat back, waiting for the reply. It arrived less than thirty seconds later.

_No way. You HAVE to go._

Piper smiled a little at the text, then rested her head back against the car seat. A minute later she composed another message.

_You know it's weird, don't you. That mind-reading thing you do._

The reply came quickly again.

_It's not mind-reading. You're just predictable._

Piper frowned.

_Thanks, Pol. :(_

The phone started to ring in her hand less than twenty seconds after sending the text. She answered it without speaking. As soon as she raised the handset to her ear she heard the voice of her best friend.

“Don't give me sad face in your texts. That makes me feel guilty.”

“Good. That's what you get for calling me predictable.”

“But you _are_ , Pipe. I've been waiting for this phone call since ten this morning.”

“What time is it now?”

“A little after two.”

“Great. So you've had four hours in which to come up with a plan, in that case.”

Polly sighed.

“Please, Pol. Help me out here.”

There was a pause of less than three seconds, then Polly spoke again. “Just go, Piper. It's gonna be what, three hours in your mother's company? You can do three hours. Invest this time now and you'll be in the clear for another three months or so.”

“More like seven hours. You're forgetting travel time.”

“Seven then. My point still stands.”

There was a silence on the line. It lasted for almost six seconds, then Piper spoke again, her voice quiet.

“It's Alex.”

“I knew it would be.” Piper could almost hear the eye-roll in her friend's voice.

“I kinda made plans for tonight. With Alex.”

“Well call him and rearrange, Pipe.” There was a hint of exasperation in Polly's tone.

“Her.”

“Excuse me?”

“Her. Alex is a her. Not a him.”

There was another silence on the line. This one lasted for almost four seconds before Polly spoke again. Quickly.

“We can go with sickness and diarrhoea _,_ that one's usually a winner. Doesn't prompt too many supplementary questions. We can say it's food poisoning for extra detail if required. I'll tell her we had bad take-out last night and it's been coming out both ends ever since. Dehydration, the works. You can't come to the phone because you're in the bathroom right now. You've been begging me not to call because you're so desperate to go tonight, but the longer the day has gone on the more obvious it's become that you're not going to be well enough.”

Piper closed her eyes and rested her head on the car window, smiling as she listened to her best friend.

“That might work,” she said, the smile evident in her voice.

“I want details, Piper. Every single fucking detail.”

“Of course.”

“I'll call her now. Call you back.”

And with that, the call terminated.

 

* * *

 

At seven thirty that evening, Piper exited the subway at Broadway-Lafayette St after a twenty minute journey from across the river. She turned left, walked for less than a minute, then entered the lobby of the Angelika Film Theatre. She cast a glance around the foyer, purchased two tickets for the film due to start at 7:55, then moved into the cinema's cafe where she ordered a chai latte and took a seat at a table with a view of the entrance.

Less than ten minutes later, Alex arrived. She was wearing blue jeans with a wide leather belt, a plain white v-necked shirt and her grey woollen pea coat, which she unbuttoned as she entered the lobby, looking around. She spotted Piper sitting in the cafe and made her way in that direction.

Piper stood to greet her, leaning in and brushing her lips against Alex's cheek.

“Hey. You look good,” she murmured.

Alex smiled. “You too, kid. You look almost human again.”

“I took a bath and a nap. I don't feel like death is about to snatch me away any more,” Piper grinned.

Alex pulled out a seat opposite her and sat down, looking around. “Am I late?”

Piper shook her head gently. “No no, we're good. The film starts in ten minutes.”

“Ah okay. What is it we're seeing?”

“ _The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo_.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yeah. Is that okay? Have you seen it already?”

“No, no. I haven't. I've read the book, though. All three of them, actually. This is a great choice, Pipes. I didn't even know it was showing.”

Piper smiled, relieved that Alex was happy with the choice of film. “They usually show indie films, but occasionally they show other older stuff. Like this. It's the original version though, in Swedish with English subtitles. Is that okay?”

Alex raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly. “Foreign language film, huh? I didn't have you down for this kinda thing, you know. Let me guess, Pedro Almodóvar is your favourite director?”

Piper grinned. “One of them, maybe. But I'm not such a hipster cliché. I rate _Dirty Dancing_ right up there in my top five favourite films too.”

Alex laughed softly, smiled warmly at Piper and said. “Well obviously. Nobody puts Baby in a corner, after all.”

Piper laughed, “Exactly!”

“Come on,” Alex smiled. “I'll shout for the popcorn and drinks as you've bought the tickets. Let's go.”

They both stood from the table and Alex bought snacks for the film before they headed in to find seats. This proved to be not too much of a challenge. They walked into the theatre to find just three other couples there waiting for the film to start. Nobody else.

Alex hung back and allowed Piper to choose their seats, following her to a pair three rows from the back, to the left of centre, some distance away from the other patrons.

“These okay?” Piper asked quietly, before sitting down.

Alex squeezed past her and sat to Piper's left. “Perfect,” she murmured as she removed her coat, draping it over the seat in front.

They sat in silence, sharing the popcorn as they waited for the film to start, their knees touching. As the lights went down, Piper reached into her pocket and turned her phone off completely then sat back, focusing on the screen as the opening titles began.

Fifteen minutes into the film, Alex moved the remnants of the popcorn and their drink to the floor beneath her seat. Her hand lazily made its way across the space between them to take hold of Piper's, their fingers intertwining. Five minutes after that, Piper shifted in her seat slightly and leaned her head against Alex's shoulder. Thirty minutes into the film, Alex raised the armrest between their seats and released Piper's hand, sliding her arm around her shoulder instead. Piper automatically closed the space between them, cuddling into Alex's side. Five minutes after that, as Mikael Blomqvist was arriving in his new temporary home on Hedeby Island, Alex felt Piper's lips press against the soft skin under her jaw.

Alex sat still for just a moment, then slowly turned her head to the right. Piper's lips dragged softly over her skin, her jaw, her chin until finally their lips touched. Piper tilted her face up, her lips parting as soon as they touched Alex's, a quick breath escaping. Her right hand came up to rest on the side of Alex's neck, thumb softly stroking just beneath her ear. Alex leaned closer, her left hand moving to hold Piper's wrist as she tentatively touched the tip of her tongue against the blonde's bottom lip.

Piper parted her lips further and touched her tongue against Alex's before kissing her harder. Her hand moved slightly lower until her palm was on Alex's collarbone, fingertips resting on her shoulder. She turned her head a little, kissed Alex softly on the corner of her mouth, then rested her temple on Alex's shoulder, her attention once more fixed on the screen.

Alex was aware that her own breathing had quickened and she made a concerted effort to slow it down again. She slid her hand down Piper's arm, resting it on the other woman's leg as she took a couple of quiet, deep breaths. Her right arm was still around Piper's shoulders, her left now sitting on her thigh. She glanced at the screen again, then ducked her head a little and murmured in Piper's ear.

“Pipes?”

“Mmm?” Piper turned her head to look up at Alex in response to her enquiry and as she did so, Alex kissed her again. She felt Piper smile against her mouth, then shift slightly in her seat, turning into the kiss. Piper's fingertips moved lightly against Alex's skin, touching her neck, then her throat and slowly moving lower until they were resting against the patch of skin on Alex's chest revealed by the V of her shirt.

They kissed each other slowly, gently, tongues touching then withdrawing, lips pressing against lips then retreating and returning to explore each other again. As they kissed, Alex moved her hand to cover Piper's and slowly, tentatively guided it further down until Piper's fingertips were tracing the lace of her bra through her shirt. Alex's hand fell away back to Piper's thigh and without any further guidance or encouragement, Piper cupped Alex's breast in her hand and squeezed, feeling Alex push her body forward as she did so, increasing the contact and deepening their kiss.

They broke the kiss a few moments later, but stayed close. Piper's hand continued to caress Alex's breast through her shirt and Alex's nose was pressed against Piper's cheek as she placed small, wet kisses along her jawline. Piper tilted her head back slightly, allowing Alex easier access as her mouth moved to kiss the side of her neck, teeth grazing against her skin as she kissed a line up towards the blonde woman's ear. She caught her earlobe between her teeth and tugged gently, her fingers digging into Piper's thigh as she whispered in her ear, “Second base. Finally.”

She felt rather than heard the small, breathless laugh that escaped Piper and smiled against her neck in response. When she lifted her head a second later, her lips were immediately caught in another kiss by Piper, this time with more urgency. She gently bit Alex's lip as she pulled away, releasing it and murmuring “I'm more than happy to take things up a level, believe me.”

She matched her words with another squeeze of Alex's breast, noticeably harder, drawing a quiet gasp from the brunette. Alex removed her arm from around Piper's shoulder and cupped her jaw with her right hand instead, her left still firmly planted on Piper's thigh. She looked Piper in the eye in the dim light of the almost-empty theatre before kissing her again, her tongue immediately pushing its way forward and meeting Piper's. As they kissed, Alex slowly moved her left hand higher along Piper's thigh, her palm resting on the top of her leg, long fingers dipping down her inseam. As the kiss intensified, so too did Piper's reaction to it. She moved her left hand into Alex's long, dark hair, threaded it between her fingers and used it to hold the other woman close, her right hand continuing to squeeze and caress Alex's breast.

Alex pressed closer, breathing faster, her hand making achingly slow progress along Piper's thigh until her thumb brushed against the fabric of her jeans between her thighs. She could feel the warmth radiating from Piper's core even through the fabric and pushed her thumb a little harder against the seam. Piper immediately broke the kiss with a quiet gasp, but kept Alex pulled close. Their mouths were open against each other's but not moving, Alex trying to see the expression on Piper's face despite the darkness and their close proximity. She slowly rubbed her thumb along the seam of Piper's jeans in one slow, firm, movement and felt the shaky exhalation of breath that escaped Piper as she did.

Encouraged, Alex repeated the movement, feeling Piper's grip on both her breast and in her hair increase in response.

“Piper,” she whispered into the other woman's mouth, her thumb still moving back and forth between Piper's legs, pushing the seam of her jeans against her.

She heard another quiet gasp, not quite a word, but certainly a response.

“Okay?” She breathed, hoping like hell the answer was yes.

She thought she felt Piper's head nod ever so slightly, so moved her hand just a quarter turn to cup the other woman, all of her fingers now pressed between her legs. She pressed hard, then moved her hand in a slow circular motion, never releasing the pressure against Piper's centre.

Piper let out a quiet, indistinguishable sound and Alex pulled away further so she could could see the blonde clearer. She slid the fingers of her right hand into Piper's hair, holding the back of her head as she leaned away, watching her face carefully as her fingers continued to move over Piper's jeans, pushing the fabric against her centre, increasing and decreasing pressure rhythmically.

“Pipes,” she breathed, watching her closely. “I wanna go for third.”

Piper responded by quickly leaning in and kissing Alex forcefully, shifting her hips forward as she did, forcing Alex's hand harder against her centre.

It would have been so easy to continue. So, so easy. But Alex dug deep and found some restraint and pulled her hand away, leaving Piper breathless and tightly wound and confused and frustrated.

Before she could speak any protest, Alex leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“Fuck the film. We're going to my place. _Now_.”

She stood and grabbed her coat and followed Piper as she all but ran out of the movie theatre.

 

* * *

 

The ride on the subway was torturous. Both women sat as close to each other as they possibly could. Piper's blue eyes seemed a darker shade than usual, her pupils large. She rested her head on Alex's shoulder for most of the journey, her hands pushed into the other woman's coat for warmth, resting on her hips.

Alex had her arms wrapped around Piper and spent almost all of the journey placing sporadic kisses on the top of her ear and whispering promises she had every intention of keeping.

They jumped off the subway at Alex's stop and hurried out of the station hand in hand, rushing through the darkened streets to her apartment. They took the stairs rather than wait for the lift and Alex fumbled with and dropped her keys twice before finally managing to open the apartment door.

They fell inside and immediately onto each other. Alex kicked the door closed as she pressed Piper up against the wall, her hands moving to push her coat off over her shoulders. Their kisses were fast and forceful and frantic and they left a trail of shoes and clothes from the front door all the way into the bedroom.

When they arrived in the bedroom, Alex was left wearing her jeans and her bra. Piper had managed to lose her jeans too and stood before Alex in just her black sheer underwear.

“You're fucking beautiful,” Alex murmured as she stepped into Piper again. “I'm gonna make you come again and again and again.”

 


	8. 8

 

I believed her. I believed every single word she said and I wanted it, too. Oh _God_ , I wanted it.

She stepped into me, both of her hands going to my face, holding me still as her lips claimed mine again. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer, my hands moving over the planes of her back, feeling the softness of her skin under my hands. I traced the outline of her bra, running my fingers down the thin shoulder straps and across the middle of her back, then tugged at the clasp, feeling the tension in the material release as it unfastened.

Her lips left mine but her hands remained in place, holding me still. She pulled away slightly and looked at me, her pupils large and darkened by lust.

“Don't stop,” I whispered as I leaned closer to kiss her again. “Please don't stop.”

Her hands moved from my face and she lowered her arms, allowing her bra to slide down and off to the floor, the clasp hitting the wooden floor with a quiet click. My eyes automatically flicked down to her breasts and she watched my face, before a slight smirk flashed across her lips and she leaned in and kissed me once more.

I parted my lips and her tongue seized the invitation, pushing into my mouth. Her lips were soft, but pressing hard against my own and I heard my own bra hit the floor without even realising she'd unfastened it. _Smooth_ , I thought, then a moment later thought nothing at all, my mind completely overtaken by the sensation of her full, soft breasts pressing against my own. My hands moved to her hips as her lips moved to my neck, kissing a slow delicious trail from my ear to my shoulder. I tilted my head to the side, my fingers gripping her hips tighter as she dropped soft, open-mouthed kisses on my skin.

Her hands stroked slowly up and down my sides, over my ribcage, soft and gentle as she kissed me, then one moved a little higher, drifting over the curve of my breast. I gasped quietly at the contact and felt her smile against my skin.

“Like that, yeah?” she murmured, her hand coming back to caress my breast more deliberately. Her fingers ghosted over my skin, then her hand closed around my breast and squeezed.

I let my head fall back, my eyes closing and breathed “ _Fuck_ yeah,” in response.

She toyed with my breast for a few seconds more, her fingers stroking and caressing me and brushing over my nipple before, without warning, she replaced her fingers with her mouth. My hand instantly flew to the back of her head as her lips closed around my nipple, her tongue pushing mercilessly at the taut bud. Her hand continued to squeeze my breast, her teeth and tongue working my nipple and I just held on to her, helpless to do anything else.

As she pulled away slightly, tugging my nipple between her teeth, I moved one of my hands to her cheek, then beneath her jaw, trying to pull her away so I could kiss her again. She obliged, our lips meeting in a bruising kiss, each of us needing more of the other. As we kissed I became aware of her hand moving away from my breast, her fingernails scratching against my skin as she moved down my torso.

Her fingertips dipped inside the top of my panties and I was incapable of resisting her, even if I'd wanted to. Her hand continued its slow journey south, pushing its way into my underwear, her fingers sliding easily between my folds, already slick with my desire. I clutched at her, gasping breathlessly into our kiss, frozen in place as the tips of her fingers skimmed over my clit then onward without pausing.

“Alex, Al...” I gasped against her mouth, my hand grabbing her wrist and stopping her before she could move her hand any further.

I watched concern flicker across her face and spoke again quickly, glancing behind us toward the bed.

“I'll fall, Al,” I breathed, clinging to her with one arm around her neck, my other hand still holding her wrist tightly.

I watched the concern on her face dissipate and saw the slow smile that replaced it before she kissed me again.

“You won't fall,” she whispered between kisses. “I've got you, you won't fall.”

She kissed me again, her full lips moving across my cheek and jaw, then sucking my skin gently just below my ear. I turned my face towards her, pushing her away from my neck and dipping my head to catch her lips with my own once more.

As we kissed, I was aware that she was guiding me gently across the room, but still let out a small surprised sound as my back hit her bedroom wall.

“I've got you,” she repeated, her voice low as she pulled back slightly to look at me.

I gradually released the tight hold I had on her wrist, dragging my fingernails up her forearm, my eyes locked with hers. “You really have,” I murmured as I leaned in to kiss her again.

Her tongue entered my mouth at the exact same moment that her index and second fingers entered me too. I moaned into her mouth, breaking the kiss as all the air was sucked out of my lungs with the sensation of her fingers pushing inside me. My muscles clenched around her fingers and my arms snaked around her neck. The palm of her hand pressed against my clit and I pushed my hips forward a little, taking her fingers deeper and increasing the pressure from her palm.

She paused for just a couple of seconds, giving me a moment to adjust before she began thrusting her fingers slowly. Her other hand moved to the base of my skull, fingers sliding into my hair and pulling my head back slightly, holding me firmly in place, her thigh pushing between my legs as her fingers worked inside me, drawing quiet exhalations of breath from my lips as I clenched around her.

Her face was centimetres from mine, her eyes watching my features intently as she fucked me, searching for any sign of discomfort or hesitancy. She found none. I tightened my arms around her neck and pulled her closer to me, kissing her roughly as I pushed my hips forward, meeting the thrust of her fingers and increasing the pressure of her palm against my clit.

“More,” I breathed into the kiss. “Fuck, _please_ , more...”

I lifted my right leg and planted my foot flat against the wall behind me, changing the angle of my hips slightly. The base of her thumb now rubbed against my clit as she continued to force her fingers inside me, the friction pushing me closer and closer to the release I so desperately craved. She kissed me again and I moaned wantonly into the kiss, moving my hips harder against her hand.

“Alex, oh! Al...” I gasped, sliding my fingers into her hair and pulling her even closer as a tremble started in my legs. She moved her hand from my head to my thigh, holding it tightly, pulling me against her. I moved my hips faster, taking what I needed from her, fucking myself on her fingers, grinding my swollen clit against her hand.

Her eyes never left mine, her pupils dark and dilated. Her lips were parted and she held the tip of her tongue between her teeth as she watched me, watching my face, my expression, listening to my breathing changing as my climax approached. She leaned closer as if to kiss me, but then moved millimetres out of my reach, making me chase her then whispered “ _Come for me, Piper”_ against my mouth.

And I did.

The muscles in my thighs tensed, the pressure that had been building in my lower belly turned to fire and I clamped tight around her fingers before my hips jerked forward as my release overtook me. She smiled against my open mouth as a small, quiet, strangled sound escaped me and she held me tightly, her fingers buried inside me and pressed against my front wall as my hips bucked against her. My hands twisted in her long black hair, holding onto her as if my life depended on it, the only conscious act I was capable of.

As the wave that overtook me began to recede, I lessened the grip I had in her hair and rested my forehead against her shoulder. Her fingers still moved inside me, slower now, gradually bringing me down from my high. When my breathing had returned to a more regular rhythm she whispered my name. I slowly lifted my head and raised my eyes to meet hers, she waited just a moment then kissed me. The kiss was tender, unhurried and deep, her lips soft against my own. I felt her fingers ease first from my body then from my damp underwear and she lowered my leg back to the floor. Her arms wrapped around me as we kissed, holding me close, skin pressed against skin as our lips moved together and my body melted into hers.

Eventually she broke the kiss and led me by the hand to her bed. I sat on the edge and looked up at her as she unhurriedly unfastened her jeans, pushed them down and stepped out of them and her panties. I let my eyes slowly drift over her pale, lithe body, starting at her feet and moving steadily upwards. She stood before me, unmoving, allowing me to drink her in. When finally my eyes met hers I saw the look and the fire that burned within and swallowed thickly.

"Oh, God" was all I managed before she was upon me again.

 

 

 


	9. 9

For the second morning running Piper awoke in Alex's bed. This time though, she was fully aware of the hows and whys surrounding her being there.

This time, she wasn't alone in the bed.

Alex was still asleep when Piper woke. Alex was Piper's big spoon. Her arm lay heavily over the blonde's waist, her body pressed up against her, her nose buried in the hair at the nape of Piper's neck. Piper could hear Alex's breathing, slow and regular, and felt her breath warm against the skin at the top of her back. She thought back to the events of the previous evening and allowed herself a small smile.

After lying still for five minutes, she tried to ease away from Alex without disturbing her. She managed to shift position until she was lying on her back, with Alex's forearm lying across her belly. She slowly and carefully lifted Alex's arm and then wriggled a little, shuffling sideways until she was able to gently lower Alex's arm back to the mattress and slip out of bed.

She tiptoed naked into the bathroom, debated internally about whether or not to flush so as not to wake Alex, flushed, and then studied her appearance in the mirror as she washed her hands. She turned her head to the side slightly and saw a very faint pink mark where Alex had been sucking and biting her skin just below her ear, before she'd managed to nudge her away and distract her with a kiss. She was relieved to see it was barely noticeable. The kids at school would just _love_ it if she turned up sporting a hickey. Polly would never let her live it down.

She smiled at her reflection as she thought about Polly, dried her hands and left the bathroom. She stood in the doorway for a moment watching Alex sleep, then slowly and quietly made her way through the apartment, gathering her clothes from the floor as she went. Her coat was in a heap at the base of the wall just inside the front door; she picked it up and pulled her phone from the pocket. Leaving all of her clothes on the back of the couch, she turned on her phone and with a grin sent a very quick text message to Polly.

_Sex with women – SO much better than with men._

She moved into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Her phone vibrated before she'd even turned off the tap.

_Are you propositioning me? Because I love you Pipe, but there are limits._

Piper giggled quietly and drank her water, then replied:

_You're safe. I have the sex with women angle covered._

The reply from Polly was immediate.

_Slut._

Piper laughed softly and tapped out a reply.

_You said we were boring not four nights ago!_

The reply came quickly.

_I said you were a slut then, too. ;)_

Piper grinned and sent one last message.

_Love you too. Call you later._

She switched off her phone, returned it to her coat pocket, then made her way back to Alex's bedroom. She paused in the doorway, watching the other woman sleep for a moment. She was lying on her front, left arm still stretched out across the mattress where Piper's body had been. Her dark hair was splayed over the pillow, contrasting starkly with the white cotton bed linen, and the doona was covering her to the waist only, affording Piper a view of the smooth, clear, pale skin of her back. Piper pulled the corner of her lower lip between her teeth as she watched the slow rise and fall of Alex's chest as she slept.

The temptation to rejoin Alex in bed was very real and Piper had to dig deep not to give in to it. She watched her sleep for long enough that it'd appear creepy if Alex were to wake, then turned on her heel and headed back into the lounge room. As quietly as she could, she pulled her clothes back on and prepared to leave, sitting on the couch to pull her boots on.

She stood and glanced around the kitchen, then started to prepare a pot of coffee. She scribbled a note on the back of an old receipt from her wallet, left it propped against the coffee machine, turned the machine on and left, closing the apartment door quietly behind her.

 

* * *

 

 

When Alex awoke, forty minutes after Piper's departure, it was to the smell of coffee filling the apartment. She rolled onto her back and breathed out slowly, then turned her head on the pillow looking for Piper.

She frowned at the space beside her and pushed herself up onto one elbow. She looked around her bedroom, still not fully awake, then ran her hand over the mattress next to her. Cold. She frowned more.

“Piper?”

She waited for a response, then called her name a little louder. “Pipes?”

Still nothing.

With a sigh she sat up properly, swung her legs out of bed and stretched her arms up high above her head. She stood and moved toward the bathroom, leaning her head inside but finding it empty. From there she pulled on a t-shirt to cover her nakedness then made her way into the loungeroom, which was also empty.

“Fuck,” Alex muttered under her breath.

Her clothes which had been strewn across the floor the previous evening, were folded neatly and left in a pile on the armchair. Piper's clothes, like Piper, were nowhere to be seen.

Alex sighed, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. She flopped onto the couch, letting her head fall back, her eyes closed.

“Fuck,” she muttered again.

Alex thought back to the events of the previous night, making out at the movie theatre, the excruciating subway journey back to her apartment, the speed at which everything escalated when they finally made it back. She thought back to the look on Piper's face in the instant before she made her come for the first time, then the second, then the third. Alex had fucked her until she couldn't take any more. Until Piper's limbs had turned to jelly and she was incapable of _speech_ never mind reciprocation, until exhaustion overtook her and she slipped into sleep with her head on Alex's chest and her arm wrapped around her lover's waist.

It had been a good night. They'd had fun. Piper had wanted to return the favour but Alex was insistent that there'd be time, plenty of time, for that later. Last night, it was all about Piper. Breathless, boneless, sated Piper.

So where the fuck was she?

Alex let out a frustrated sigh and hauled herself to her feet and went to get coffee. Maybe when her caffeine levels were at an acceptable level she'd be able to think a little clearer. Work out what had happened. Where she'd gone wrong. Just what it was that she'd done to warrant Piper walking out without even so much as a goodbye.

As she reached for the coffee pot, she spotted the paper propped against it. Her hand automatically diverted to it and snatched it from the counter. She squinted at it for a few seconds before hurrying back to the bedroom to grab her glasses, cursing under her breath, then returning to the kitchen.

It was a receipt. For whole wheat orzo, baby spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and a can of garbanzo beans. Alex didn't even know that there was such a thing as _garbanzo beans_ , let alone why Piper would leave her a receipt for them.

“The fuck?” she murmured, before turning the receipt over and seeing a note scribbled on the reverse in the kind of flowing cursive that could only ever belong to a schoolteacher.

_You look so_ ~~beautiful~~ peaceful, I can't stand to wake you.  
_Thank you for last night. I had a really incredible_  
_time. Sorry for running out on you, but I have to_  
_go buy supplies for the dinner I'm making you_  
_tonight (and a suitcase before the store closes). :)  
_ _Dinner 7:30, my place. xx_

Alex read the message with a furrowed brow and a hint of anxiety gnawing at her insides. The frown had smoothed away by the time she reached the last line and the anxiety had morphed into something else entirely.

She read the note again. Then a third time. Then a fourth.

She leaned back against the counter, letting her hands fall to her sides. She looked up at the ceiling and smiled and murmured a quiet _thank you._ She was grinning as she poured her coffee, relieved and happy and none the wiser about the garbanzo beans and just a little bit anxious that they may form part of dinner.

She took her coffee back into the loungeroom, found her phone, then placed a call to Nicky.

Alex relaxed back into the couch, her feet resting on the coffee table, holding her coffee in her left hand and phone in her right. It rang out for almost forty seconds before it was answered with a grunt.

“Did I wake you?”

Another grunt.

“Nicky?”

Silence.

“Nicky? Are you there?”

Another grunt.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah.”

“Did I wake you?”

“Is it before midday?”

“Yeah, twenty before.”

“Then yeah. You fuckin' woke me.”

Alex grinned. She could apologise, but neither of them would have believed it was sincere.

“I need a favour.”

“Uh huh.”

“Nicky?”

“I'm listening.”

“I need you to work for me tonight.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Nicky!”

“It's my day off.”

“I know.”

“It was busy as hell last night. I'm not doing that again.”

“Today's Sunday. It'll be quiet, you'll have an easy shift.”

“No, _you_ will have an easy shift.”

“Nicky, please. C'mon. I need this.”

There was a silence on the line. Alex pulled her phone from her ear and looked at the screen to check they hadn't been disconnected. She put the phone back to hear ear just in time to hear Nicky speak.

“What did you say?”

“I said I need this.”

“No, before that.”

“Umm...”

“Did you say _please_?”

“Uh, I think so yeah.”

“Shit. Really?”

“Yeah, it's a pretty common word. It's used in polite requests.”

“It ain't fuckin' common when it's you talking to me, that's for fuckin' sure.”

Alex sighed.

“Go on, say it again.”

“Fuck you.”

“Say it.”

“No.”

“C'mon, I wanna hear you say it.”

“Please.”

“Nuh-uh, say it properly. Like in a _polite request_.”

Alex could hear the grin in Nicky's voice. She sighed, then in her politest voice made the request again.

“Nicky, please could you work my shift tonight? I'd be really grateful and will owe you one if you can do this for me. Please.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why do you want me to work for you?”

“Does it matter? Will it affect your decision?”

“It might.”

“Okay, I have to visit my grandmother in hospital.”

“Your grandmother is dead, Vause. I went to the fuckin' funeral.”

Alex couldn't help chuckling. It was true.

“Okay, okay, I have a… uh, date.”

“A date.”

“Uh huh.”

“With Piper?”

“What difference does it make who it's with?”

“Lots.”

“How so?”

“Well if it's with Piper, then yeah, I'll work your shift for you. If it's with somebody else, you can find some other sucker to work because I'm not doing it.”

“Wait, what? How does that even work?”

“Is it with Piper?”

“Yes it's with Piper!”

“Cool beans. No problemo. I'll work it for ya.”

“Wait, but… I… huh?”

Nicky laughed at her friend's obvious confusion. “I said I'll work it for you. You and Blondie? That mental image is in my spank bank, Vause, I'm tellin' ya. Anything I can do to make that a reality, I'm all up for that.”

“Fuck's sake, Nicky!”

Alex listened to her friend's laughter as she tried to pretend Nicky hadn't just said that. Eventually Nicky's laughter died down to a level that enabled speech again.

“You kids have fun, now. You still owe me, by the way.”

“Yeah yeah. Okay. Sure. Whatever.”

“The word you're looking for is _thanks_ , Vause.”

“Thanks.” Alex huffed.

“You'll be in tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah. I'll be there by one.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow, boss.”

“See ya, Nicky. Thanks.”

Alex was about to hang up when another thought occurred to her.

“Nicky, wait!”

“Sup?”

“You any idea what the fuck _garbanzo beans_ are?”

 


	10. 10

Piper arrived home, arms laden with groceries, a little after one thirty. She unpacked the supplies and hit the 'play' button on her answering machine. There were two messages, both were from her mother.

The first one had a timestamp of mid-afternoon the previous day. It consisted of her mother trying to hide her displeasure beneath a veil of sympathy after receiving Polly's call. Piper rolled her eyes as she half-listened.

The second message had a timestamp of just ten minutes earlier. As the robotic voice stated the time before delivering the message, Piper breathed a sigh of relief that she'd missed being home to actually take the call. Her mother's voice filled the apartment.

_Piper, darling. It's mother. We're still at the Forsbergs'. Daddy had a little too much to drink last night so we decided to stay over. He's playing golf with Magnus and Matthias at the moment and I'm on my way to lunch with Marjorie. He should be finished around five and we'll be heading home, so we'll call and see you on our way back. We should be in the city between seven and seven thirty. See you soon. Hope you're feeling brighter._

Piper listened to the message unfold with a growing sense of dread. By the time it reached the end she was shouting "No!" repeatedly at the machine. She approached it and jabbed at buttons frantically until the message replayed. She stared at the machine wide eyed as her mother's voice once again filled the air around her and she listened to the message once more, becoming increasingly panicked.

She snatched up her phone and dialled Polly. It was answered almost immediately.

"If you're phoning to gloat over how fantastic your sex life is, I'm hanging up now."

"Polly. I'm fucked."

"Yeah, I got that. Congratulations."

"No! No no no, I don't mean that-"

"You mean you  _didn't_  get laid?" Polly interrupted.

"No, I did, I mean-"

"Was she good? I take it from your text this morning it wasn't exactly terrible but you  _did_ promise me details, so..."

"Polly. My mother is coming."

"Ewww. It's  _your_  sex life I'm interested in, Pipe. Not your mother's. Yeuch."

"Oh my god. What is  _wrong_ with you?"

"What?"

"I meant she's coming  _here_. To my apartment. Not  _coming_  coming, for fuck's sake."

"Ohhh! Oh. Oh well that's..."

"You're wrong, Pol. You're wrong in the goddamn head."

"Yeah, it's been said."

"I can't believe you think my mother still has sex."

"Of course she does. Just not with your dad."

"Polly!"

"What? It's true. You know it. You were with me when we found that fucking dildo in her drawers."

"Oh god, please stop. I don't want to be reminded."

"Reminded? Like we can ever forget. It was the size of a baby's arm! I'm mentally scarred."

" _You're_  mentally scarred? She's not your mother!"

"Still. It gave me nightmares for weeks."

"Please stop talking about it."

"I can't. It's there now. In my head. I can't shake the image."

"Please. Just try. I need your help here."

"Why, what's the matter?"

"I can't have them coming here."

"Why not? Just put your dressing gown on, mess up your hair, move the doona and a pillow from the bed to the couch. It's not like you have to hurl in front of them, just act like you spent last night doing it. Instead of what you were actually doing, the details of which you've yet to share, incidentally."

"That's not gonna work."

"Sure it will. Make sure you boil the kettle when they're due, soak a washcloth in the hot water, then rub it over your face just before you open the door. She'll do that mother-thing where they take your temperature by a hand on the forehead, you'll be burning up, boom. Home run. Speaking of which..."

"It won't work, Pol. You want to know why?"

"It's a perfect plan! It has not a single flaw. Why won't it work?"

"Because Alex will be here."

There was a moment of silence on the line before Polly spoke again. "Yeah. Now that's a pretty big flaw in my masterplan right there."

"Uh huh."

"Why will Alex be there?"

"Because I'm cooking her dinner."

"But I thought you liked this girl..."

"Fuck you. I can cook."

"Does it have to be tonight?"

"I  _want_  it to be tonight."

"What time is she coming. Arriving."

"Seven thirty. And thanks for changing the wording there."

"What time are your parents due?"

"They said between seven and seven thirty."

"Can Alex come later? I mean arrive. Obviously."

"Yeah yeah, I knew what you meant. Stop that now."

"Sorry."

"Problem is, I have to cook dinner. Even if I put Alex back an hour, I'll still be preparing dinner when my parents arrive and I can't be prepping dinner if I'm supposed to have been crapping and hurling all night, can I."

"You could close the curtains, turn all your lights off and pretend you're not home."

"Yeah, because Alex isn't going to think  _that's_  weird at all, is she."

"You need to speak to her. Tell her. Warn her or something."

"I don't want to scare her off, Pol."

"So you need to call your mother back and tell her not to come. Visit."

"You know what it's like though, I just can't say no to her."

"Well now's the time to learn, babe."

There was another pause on the line before Piper spoke again. Polly picked up on the wheedling tone in her voice immediately.

"Pol, could..."

"No."

"Oh come on! You don't even know what I'm going to ask yet!"

"You're gonna ask me to call your mother and tell her you're still sick and not to visit."

Piper didn't reply. She just waited.

"No, Pipe."

" _Please._ "

"You could do that."

"I could, but it'd sound way more convincing if you did it."

"Sit on the couch, then spin around so you're upside down. Feet against the back of the couch, head on the floor. It'll stretch your vocal chords and change the sound of your voice when you call. It'll make you sound sick without you having to put on the pretend-sick voice that everyone can see through."

"Seriously?"

"It works!"

"It sounds far easier you calling, to be honest."

Polly sighed. Piper held her breath, waiting.

"You have to give me something."

"What?"

"If I do this for you, you have to give me something."

Piper frowned, wary. "Like what?"

"All I have is a name. I know her name is Alex. I think I know which neighbourhood she lives in and what she does for work, unless you lied to me about that stuff..."

"I didn't."

"So I need more. If I'm gonna lie to your mother about how contagious you are, I need more."

"I thought you were gonna ask me for, like, my DVD collection or something."

"Fuck no, you have shocking taste in films."

"I do not!"

"Whatever. So I need something more on Alex. I want to know who this woman is that's making you lie to your mother."

"Well, technically, making  _you_  lie to my mother."

"Good point. So spill."

Piper took a breath, considering her response. Polly remained silent, waiting.

"Okay. We went to a club on Friday and I met some of her friends and then we went to the Angelika last night. She owns a bar, like I said, and she works there some nights too."

"Keep going."

"Umm, she… she's a little taller than me, but not much."

"So she's a giant."

"No, you're just a midget."

"Continue."

"She has dark hair. Really dark. Black, almost. It's long, past her shoulders, soft, with a bit of curl. It has blue tips and smells like coconut."

Polly raised her eyebrows at this, unseen by Piper over the phone, but remained silent.

"Green eyes. Really big green eyes. She wears glasses, glasses with dark frames, that just make her eyes look bigger. She looks like she should be a librarian or a secretary, not a badass bar owner."

"She's a badass or the bar's badass?"

"And long fingers," Piper continued as if Polly hadn't spoken. "She has really elegant hands, her nails are short and manicured and her fingers are long and her hands are soft, but strong and when she touches me..."

"Whoah whoah whoah. That'll do."

"What?"

"I don't think I want to know about her touching you."

"I meant, like, when she touches my arm, or takes hold of my hand, or..."

"Yeah, it's the ' _or_ ' that worries me."

"I didn't mean when they're  _inside_  me, Pol, but if you want..."

"Fucking stop right there!"

Piper laughed quietly, fully aware of what she was doing.

"I was just saying that..."

"I don't care! I've heard enough. I have to go now, I have to call your mother."

 

* * *

 

At five o'clock, Piper received a text from Alex.

_I was going to bring wine later, but difficult as I don't know what you're cooking. Any preference?_

Piper had no idea. Wine was wine as far as she was concerned: first and second glasses tasted like vinegar, third and fourth glasses tasted of nothing, fifth and sixth glasses and she could barely remember her own name, never mind how wine tasted. She opened the browser on her phone and Googled for an answer. After ten minutes of searching, she'd managed to confuse herself completely and had begun to wish she hadn't chosen to cook salmon for dinner.

It was a minefield.

She eventually took a punt on one of the wines that appeared to be paired more often than others and replied.

_Chardonnay would be great._

Then she second guessed herself and sent a follow up.

_Or a Pinot Grigio._

Alex replied quickly.

_No problem. Need anything else?_

Piper considered this, before replying.

_Just you. x_

The 'x' was definitely deliberate this time.

She returned to preparing dinner. By six thirty she'd managed to caramelise some onions and was keeping them warm in lime juice. She had potatoes and vegetables ready in the steamer and had prepared her salmon by brushing it with mustard and rolling it in crushed almonds. She'd remembered to preheat the oven and everything was ready for cooking once Alex arrived.

She took a quick shower and dressed in a simple white blouse and grey wool trousers. She'd just finished drying her hair and was about to apply her makeup when she was interrupted by the ringing of the apartment buzzer. She glanced at the clock and checked the display on the entry system before buzzing Alex in.

She left the makeup and moved into the kitchen, turned the heat on under the potatoes and put the salmon in the oven. A moment later she heard the soft knock of Alex's hand at the door.

She was still barefoot when she opened the apartment door. Alex was wearing her pea coat and carrying a bottle of wine and a small bunch of flowers. She looked a little awkward as she held the flowers out toward Piper, offering them by way of greeting.

Piper smiled as she accepted them. "Thank you," she murmured as she leaned close and kissed Alex lightly on the cheek before she stepped back to let her in.

Alex entered the apartment and glanced around as she unbuttoned her coat. Piper's apartment was compact, but the furniture had clearly been selected with care. Quality over quantity. She was immediately struck by the bookshelf that covered an entire wall and the lack of a television. A seat had been built into the bay window and there was a desk in the corner that was clearly used often; it was a genuine place of work rather than just another piece of furniture. On the shelf above the desk sat a Bose bluetooth speaker from which music was quietly drifting, a framed photograph of two young women and another framed photograph of two young men. There was a small couch, an armchair and a coffee table. Two unlit candles and a Macbook sat on the coffee table. The room wasn't exactly  _sparse_ but it wasn't overflowing with possessions either.

Piper took Alex's coat and hung it on the antique hatstand, then moved into the kitchen. She took the wine and placed it in the fridge, then busied herself finding a vase for the flowers which she placed in the centre of the coffee table.

"Can I get you anything? A drink? Anything?" Piper asked.

Alex shook her head "I'm good," she replied. "I'll wait and have wine with you for dinner."

Piper checked her watch. "It'll be about fifteen minutes."

"Great."

Piper busied herself setting the small table in her kitchen. It was just big enough for two place settings and she only had two chairs. She joked that she had no friends and usually ate from her knee in the loungeroom so this was a novelty, eating formally.

Alex joked back that she'd have been comfortable eating from their knees like she did at home, but she was secretly pleased that Piper had gone to the effort of laying the table and she couldn't hold back a small smile as she watched the blonde woman light a candle in the centre of it.

She leaned against the doorway as she watched Piper return to the task of cooking dinner. For some reason her eyes were drawn to her feet, she watched as she moved barefoot around the kitchen and chewed the inside of her lip as she watched. She'd never had  _a thing_  for feet particularly, but something about the way Piper moved just drew her in. Maybe it was the contrast that did it, the formality of her clothes versus the casualness of being barefoot. Alex didn't know. She just knew she couldn't stop staring.

"Is this Nick Cave?" she asked, tilting her head as she listened to the music coming from the loungeroom. Anything to distract her from those feet.

Piper paused from cooking and looked around at Alex with a surprised smile. "It is! Wow, I'm impressed. Most people have never heard of him never mind recognise his music."

Alex raised one shoulder and smiled as she shrugged. "I'm not most people."

Piper just looked at her for a couple of seconds before turning back to the stovetop. "No," she murmured. "You're really not."

"Is there anything I can do?" Alex asked, then added "With dinner, I mean."

"I don't think so," Piper replied. "Thanks, but I think I have everything under control."

_I wish I did_ , Alex thought, as her eyes drifted over the woman standing before her in front of the oven. From the angle she was at, Piper was in profile, but mostly turned away from her. She could see a patch of skin on the side of her neck and had a sudden urge to press her lips against it. She pushed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and leaned more of her weight against the doorframe, as if trying to anchor herself to it.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for a Nick Cave fan," Alex said, making conversation.

"You wouldn't have pegged me for a teacher either, apparently." Piper smiled.

"True," Alex conceded.

"What did you think I'd be into?"

"Oh, I don't know. Bieber?"

Piper burst out laughing and held a wooden spoon towards Alex in as threatening a manner as she could manage.

Alex grinned. "Or Taylor Swift. Yeah. Definitely Taylor Swift."

"Don't make me hurt you," Piper threatened, advancing towards Alex and trying to look menacing. A difficult task when brandishing a wooden spoon.

Alex's raised both eyebrows briefly and held Piper's gaze as she responded with "Promises, promises."

Piper's smile was quick and she ducked her head shyly to cover the flush that she could feel instantly colouring her cheeks. She turned back to the stovetop and cleared her throat quietly before speaking again.

"Could you get the wine glasses? They're in the cupboard next to the fridge, top cupboard."

Alex moved to the cupboard and removed two glasses as requested. She placed them on the countertop next to the fridge, then turned and leaned on it as she watched Piper busy herself with dinner. After a few seconds she moved up behind the other woman and placed her hands on her hips. Piper jumped slightly, but didn't pull away. Alex moved in close behind her, dipped her head and slowly pressed her lips against the patch of skin on Piper's neck that had had her so transfixed a few minutes earlier. She moved the tip of her nose against Piper's neck, inhaling her scent before she stepped away again.

"Sorry," she murmured. "Couldn't resist."

Piper smiled and rubbed at the goosebumps that had appeared on her arm, drawn out by Alex's brief contact. "It's okay," she mumbled, unable to make eye contact with her.

"The flowers are lovely," Piper said a few seconds later. "What are the small purple ones?"

"Violets," Alex replied.

"They're really pretty."

"So are you."

Alex's reply was instant and Piper blushed again, shaking her head, laughing quietly.

"They're a symbol," Alex continued a moment later. "Violets. They're symbolic."

"They are?"

"Mmm. But I'll let you Google it later."

Piper glanced back over her shoulder at Alex, then smiled a little. "Okay," she murmured. "I will."

She reached for a couple of plates and placed them on the countertop.

"I think it's ready," she said. "Could you sort out the wine while I serve?"

"Sure," Alex replied, already moving to the fridge.

Piper served up the potatoes and vegetables first, then removed the salmon from the oven. The almonds coating the fish had roasted, giving it a golden crust and she carefully placed it onto the plates with the veggies. She topped the fish with caramelised onions and lime, scattered some green onions and a couple of leaves of basil on the top, then stood back and breathed a quiet sigh of relief when it was done, grateful for having neither burned nor dropped anything.

Having poured the wine and placed the glasses on the table, Alex watched as Piper stood back after plating the food. She moved a little closer and peered over Piper's shoulder.

"Looks good, Pipes," she murmured.

Piper beamed.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

Piper's smile turned into a frown as she studied the plates in front of her.

"It's almond crusted salmon with caramelised onions and basil," she began. "New potatoes, asparagus, green beans and petit pois."

"Petit pois, huh?"

"Mmm."

"Peas, then."

"Well yes. But I'm still trying to impress you, remember."

"You don't have to try, Piper."

Piper remained silent for a couple of moments then turned her head and looked at Alex, who smiled and shrugged one shoulder.

"Just sayin'."

Piper smiled and turned back, reaching for both of the plates. She carried them to the table and placed them down carefully, then checked everything was turned off before joining Alex at the table.

Alex looked down at her plate, then up at Piper.

"So, is now the best time to tell you about my nut allergy and my intense dislike of salmon?"

Piper's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in horror. The stricken look on her face was too much for Alex to bear and she couldn't continue with the pretense. She started to laugh quietly, then reached across the table and covered Piper's hand with her own, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Joke, Pipes. Joking."

Piper continued to stare at Alex for a moment longer, before her brow furrowed.

"Really?"

"Really. Joking. I love salmon and have no allergies. That I'm aware of, anyway." Alex withdrew her hand slowly.

"That was  _mean_ , Alex." Piper said accusingly, the tension easing from her face and being replaced by a small smile.

"I know, right? The look on your face..."

Alex smiled across the table and watched as Piper began to relax again.

"I'm sorry," she said. "You're right, it was mean, but I just couldn't resist."

"You're one of  _those_  people, aren't you."

"People who find you irresistible? Yeah. You got me. Guilty as charged."

Piper smiled, that wasn't what she meant but she was happy with the answer. Alex reached for her wine and lifted the glass, tilting it in Piper's direction.

"We should toast."

Piper raised an eyebrow as well as her glass. "What are we drinking to?"

Alex thought for a moment before speaking. "To Nick Cave and new beginnings."

Piper held Alex's eye for a moment, before touching their glasses together.

"Nick Cave and new beginnings," she repeated quietly, then took a sip from her glass.

 

* * *

 

They sat together on the small couch in Piper's loungeroom. The room was illuminated only by the two candles that flickered on the coffee table before them. Dinner had been a success and Alex had been quietly impressed at Piper's culinary skills. They'd finished the wine Alex had brought and had moved onto a second bottle, found lurking inside Piper's fridge. Alex was seated at the end of the couch, Piper curled into her side. Piper's legs were tucked beneath her and Alex's arm rested around her shoulders. Nick Cave still sang softly to them.

"Who are the people?" Alex asked, gesturing toward the framed photos above Piper's desk.

Piper looked over, then smiled a little. "Well that's me and Polly. Freshman year at college. I love that photo of us, we both look so happy and like we didn't have a care in the world. Everything was so simple then."

"It isn't now?"

"I don't know. Sometimes yes, sometimes no." She fell silent, not expanding on this and Alex chose not to push it.

"And the guys?" she asked, a few seconds later.

"My brothers," Piper replied. "Daniel and Calvin."

She smiled, then added "Danny and Cal, really. But my mother doesn't like it when we shorten each other's names."

"Older or younger than you?"

"Dan's older by four years. He moved to Seattle when I was twenty and I miss him. Cal's two years younger than me and lives upstate." She looked over at the photo and smiled fondly. "Danny was my best friend when we were kids. My big brother, protector, teacher, ally against the monster that was Cal." She glanced at Alex and grinned then looked back at the photo again. "Cal's the hippy dropout of the family. He doesn't subscribe to  _the competitive capitalist dogma,"_ she drew air quotation marks around this before continuing "so lives in an old motorhome in the middle of nowhere upstate where, as far as I can ascertain, he succeeds in disappointing my parents whilst living a quiet life filled with the aroma of the pot he smokes and I'm pretty sure sells."

Alex smiled. "I like him already."

"Cal's okay," Piper continued. "He's laid back to the point of being horizontal and nothing ever seems to make him angry or frustrated. I wish sometimes I could be more like him."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. He doesn't care what people think of him, he doesn't subscribe to the things society says we must have or do or be. He's just Cal and he's happy."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Happy."

Piper remained silent for a couple of seconds, then smiled as she pushed herself up. "I think more wine is needed before I tackle  _that_ question."

Alex watched her as she moved into the kitchen, then came back with the bottle. She topped up both of their glasses before drinking some of her own then resuming her position on the couch, tucked into Alex's side.

"How about you?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"Hmm?"

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Oh," Alex started. "Nope. Just me. Although I've known Nicky since middle school and she irritates me just like any sibling would if that counts."

Piper rested her head against Alex's shoulder and smiled a little. "She's as protective of you as a sibling would be too."

Alex frowned a little. "She is?"

"Mmm."

Alex was about to ask for details when Piper murmured "Oh, I love this song."

She listened for a moment, smiling as she recognised the song that had just started.

_I've felt you coming girl, as you drew near_  
_I knew you'd find me, cause I longed you here  
_ _Are you my destiny? Is this how you'll appear?_

She pulled away from Piper and stood, leaving the younger woman looking bewildered. Then she extended her hand and helped Piper to her feet. "Come on," she murmured. "Dance with me."

Piper looked confused for a moment, then shy, then she smiled and stepped closer as Alex pulled her in. She wound her arms around Alex's back and rested her head against her shoulder, letting the music and Nick Cave's voice drift over her.

Alex moved slowly in the small space, swaying in time with the music, holding Piper against her.

_As you've been moving, surely toward me_  
_My soul has comforted and assured me_  
_That in time my heart it will reward me_  
_And that all will be revealed_  
_So I've sat and I've watched an ice-age thaw  
_ _Are you the one that I've been waiting for?_

Piper touched her lips to Alex's neck and let her eyes close, feeling the music envelop her as Alex's arms tightened around her waist. They moved together with the music, their bodies pressed close, melding against each other. Piper breathed in the scent of Alex's perfume, noticed how it mixed with the smell of her shampoo and mingled to create an individual scent that was just  _Alex_. She inhaled deeper, pulling herself even closer to the other woman and for just a moment wished she could bottle this, bottle it and keep it forever.

The song drew to an end, Nick Cave's low mellifluous tones repeating the song title twice before it faded to nothing.

_Are you the one I've been waiting for  
_ _Are you the one that I've been waiting for_

They pulled apart by only centimetres, arms still wound around each other as their eyes met. Neither woman spoke. Or at least, no words were uttered. The words hung in the air around them, the question unspoken by either of them, but answered by both as their lips met.

 

* * *

  

Her clothes lay on the floor, discarded in haste. One hand was looped back over the pillow, her fingers gripping the base of the headboard. Her other hand was between her legs, fingers entwined in Piper's blonde hair, holding her in place as she moved her hips against against her face. Piper's tongue was teasing and tormenting her, causing quiet gasps of pleasure to fall from her lips. She found herself parting her legs wider, her thigh muscles burning as she tried desperately to take more, have more, feel more.

Piper's tongue played a tantalising dance, pushing inside her then withdrawing and moving to focus on her clit, pressing against it, around it, flicking repeatedly over it until Alex felt she could take no more. Again and again Piper took her to the edge then withdrew, leaving her teetering on the brink, her heart pounding, breathing ragged, frustration and desperation growing.

"Please," she breathed. " _Please_ , Piper..."

Piper withdrew briefly, and looked up at Alex from her position between her legs. She looked up over the pale skin of her abdomen noticing the way her muscles twitched, up over the swell of her breasts, over her neck noticing the deep flush that started on her chest and crept up over her skin. Alex's head was raised from the pillow and their eyes met.

Piper wet her lips, tasting nothing but Alex, and smiled up at her.

Alex groaned and let her head fall back to the pillow, before lifting it and meeting Piper's gaze once more.

"Please," she whispered.

Piper's smile grew then she dipped her head and kissed the other woman's abdomen. She moved slowly, placing small delicate kisses over Alex's skin as she moved up her body. She dragged her tongue in a long slow line from her navel up the midline of her body, between her breasts, to the base of her throat. She kissed the soft skin beneath Alex's chin, taking all of her weight on her left arm as her right hand eased its way between Alex's thighs.

She dropped soft wet kisses along Alex's jaw, then over her cheek and kissed the corner of her mouth as her fingers slid between the other woman's folds, moving ever closer to where Alex needed her to be. Her thumb grazed over Alex's clit, causing her hips to jerk without warning and Piper's smile widened.

She paused for a moment, looking down at the woman beneath her. Alex's eyes appeared more black than green, her lips were parted and her breaths were coming quickly, her chest rising and falling and pressing against Piper's own with every quiet exhalation. Her skin was covered with a light sheen of sweat, their bodies slipping against one another. Alex moved her hand to the back of Piper's neck and held her firmly in place, their lips almost touching.

Alex ran her tongue along her lower lip then lifted her head from the pillow again. The instant their lips touched was the same moment Piper chose to push her fingers inside her lover, two fingers sliding easily inside her. Alex's mouth fell open, the kiss forgotten as her muscles clenched around Piper's fingers.

Her thumb pressed against Alex's clit as her fingers thrust inside her, she watched the emotions play out over the other woman's face as her fingers brought her closer to the edge once more. Alex's hips were moving rhythmically, pushing against Piper's hand, her fingernails were digging into the back of Piper's neck, leaving half-moon shapes that would remain until the middle of the coming week.

Piper watched Alex's face, listened to her breathing, felt the tightening of her muscles around the fingers buried knuckle deep inside her. Alex's eyes had closed, her head was pushed back into the pillow, arching her neck. A quiet whimper escaped her and Piper shifted her position slightly, lifting a little higher.

"Alex," she whispered, her eyes fixed on the other woman's face, her warm breath ghosting over her skin. "Alex, look at me."

A quiet moan escaped Alex, but she slowly turned her head and opened her eyes and looked up at Piper.

They looked at each other, unspeaking, Piper's fingers still working as Alex raised her hips, pushing against her, the pressure building and building inside her. A tremble began in her thighs and her hold on Piper tightened, her other hand slipping against the smooth wood of the bedhead as she scrabbled for purchase.

A small smile played on Piper's lips as she intently watched Alex, gauging just how close she was to finally falling over the edge, revelling in the knowledge that it was her and her alone who was taking her there.

"Piper," Alex exclaimed, her voice shaky. "Oh fuck Piper..."

Piper closed the remaining gap between them and kissed Alex roughly, claiming her lips with her own just as Alex finally succumbed to the sensations that had been threatening to overtake her. She came hard, her hips jerking against Piper's hand, clutching her tightly, her cries lost into their kiss.

It was Piper's wide smile that eventually broke the kiss. She pulled away and looked down at the exhausted woman beneath her. She slowly eased her fingers from her body then hesitantly leaned down again and kissed Alex softly on the mouth.

" _God_ , Pipes," Alex murmured when finally she felt able to trust her voice. "I hope you bought those suitcases, kid. Because I'm keeping you."


	11. 11

It was Wednesday evening. She hadn't seen Alex since they both left the apartment on Monday morning, Alex heading home as she set off to school.

"I'll call you," Alex had said and Piper had smiled before kissing her softly on the lips and walking towards the subway.

She'd received an apologetic text message late on Monday night, explaining she was caught up at work but would talk to her the following day. Piper was already asleep in bed when the message arrived, so didn't reply until the next morning as she was hurrying to get ready for school. Two words. " _No problem_." No kiss, though she only realised this on Wednesday afternoon.

Both Piper and Alex spent Tuesday missing each other's calls. This wasn't helped by the fact that Piper managed to leave her phone on the kitchen counter when she headed off to work in the morning. She arrived home late, called Alex back, but she was already working. Piper cursed her forgetfulness and spent the evening catching up on bills and laundry.  _Living the high life_ , she mused.

Wednesday didn't go well for Piper. After oversleeping and having to hurry to make sure she got to school on time, she arrived flustered and wet, having been caught in a rain shower from the subway station to school and realising too late that she'd left her umbrella at home in her haste that morning. She had a conference with a particularly difficult parent mid-morning and then found she'd drawn the short straw for playground duty over lunchtime. By the time she made it to the staff room just before finishing work, she found she'd missed three calls from Alex over the lunch period. She called her back as she headed back to the subway after school, but it went straight to voicemail.

The heavens opened again as Piper made her way back to her apartment from the station and she arrived home soaked to the skin, her hair plastered to her head, tired and frustrated and shivering with the cold.

She peeled her clothes off and stepped into the shower, turning the water up as high as she could stand it. She stood still and allowed it to course over her for a full ten minutes, warming her through, before washing her hair and eventually stepping out. She reached for a large towel and wrapped it around her pink skin.

She sat on the edge of her bed, rubbed her hair dry with a second towel, then dressed in her pyjamas. She gathered together her wet clothes, a few more from the laundry basket, then moved through into the kitchen and bundled them all into the washing machine. She flicked the kettle on to boil, then moved back into the loungeroom and pulled her phone from her bag with the intention of calling Alex.

She saw she had two missed calls, both made when she was in the shower, both from Alex, and one voicemail message.

_Not having much luck catching up with you, kid. Hope you're okay. I'm just headed into work so will try and catch you tomorrow._

There was a pause of a second or so while Alex considered how to end the message, then it continued.

_So, um, yeah. I'll… I'll speak with you then. Uh. Yeah. See ya._

Piper smiled to herself as she listened to the uncertainty creep into Alex's voice at the end of the message and immediately called her back. It rang for a full minute before diverting to voicemail. She chose not to leave a message.

She made herself a cup of chamomile tea and an omelette for dinner, then sat at her desk to eat it. She spent the next two hours marking school work and preparing the lessons for the following day. A little after eight thirty she sat back in her chair and rubbed her hands over her face, before stretching her arms up over her head, easing out the stiffness that had built up in her shoulders. Her eyes fell upon the photograph of her brothers and she studied it for a few seconds before checking the time, doing a quick mental calculation and reaching for her phone.

Two and a half thousand miles away, a phone started to ring in an apartment on the shores of Lake Washington. It rang three times before it was answered, a cheerful, sing-song voice greeting her.

"Chapman-Johnson residence, this is Garett."

"Hey Garett, how's my favourite fake brother-in-law today?"

"Piper? Piper! Is that you?"

Piper laughed softly at the surprise in Garett's voice. "Yep, it's me. How are you, Gare?"

"So much better for hearing your lovely voice,  _at last_." He placed heavy emphasis on the last two words, making Piper smile.

"It works both ways, you know."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry sweetie. You know what he's like. This is the first time he's let me out of the bedroom in two weeks!"

Piper laughed again, knowing this was untrue. "Is he there?"

"Yeah, hold on, I'll get him." Garett paused, then added "It's good to hear from you, Piper. I mean it."

Piper heard the phone clunk as it was placed on a heavy surface, then the sound of movement in the background before the phone was picked up again and another voice floated down the line.

"Piper?"

"Hey, Danny."

"Ah, Pipes. It's good to hear your voice. How are you? What's happening? Is everything okay?"

Piper smiled. There were two people in the world who called her Pipes, her big brother and her… hmm. Her whatever-Alex-is. Most people went with Pipe if they bothered changing her name at all, but Pipes had been exclusive to Danny until very recently.

"Everything's good, yeah. I just..." she fell silent for a moment, then finished quieter "miss you."

Piper listened to the static on the line, then the sound of her older brother moving around. She heard his quiet exhalation of breath as he sat heavily in his overstuffed armchair, then his voice, quiet and serious.

"What's going on, kiddo?"

Piper held the phone a little tighter. "Nothing, Dan. I've had a rough day, work has been hell and I got rained on. Twice."

"Don't talk to me about rain, Pipes. You want to try living here."

They both smiled and Piper moved to her window seat, looking out over the dark street and the rain that still fell steadily outside.

"I was soaked to the skin."

"There's no such thing as bad weather, Piper. Just inappropriate clothing."

"Oh my God. Shut  _up_. You sound like Carol!"

She bit her lip as soon as the words were out of her mouth, wishing she could haul them back in. Her brother was silent for a couple of seconds, the dead air hanging heavily between them, before responding.

"Still not found any treatment for that foot-in-mouth disease I see, sis."

"I'm so sorry, Dan."

"It's okay."

"It isn't really."

"Pipes. It's okay." His voice was soft, quiet.

Piper started to laugh softly as the sound of Garett's singing filled the space created by their silence a moment later.

_Oh Danny boy, the Pipes, the Pipes she's calling_

_From east to west, across this country wiiiide..._

"Shut up!" Danny shouted and Piper laughed.

"He's funny."

"He's funny in the head, yeah."

"But you love him anyway."

"God knows why."

Piper smiled, then asked in a quiet voice "Are you happy, Dan?"

"Wow. That's a big question."

"Yeah, but are you?"

Danny fell silent and watched as his boyfriend moved around the kitchen of their apartment, preparing dinner. Garett whistled quietly as he worked, his hips swaying to the song playing in his head.

"I am," he murmured into the phone. "Yes."

Piper felt the sting of tears prick her eyes and she took a long deep breath, composing herself before she spoke again.

"I'm glad," she whispered.

"I wish, sometimes, that things were different," Danny continued softly. "But it's the way they are and I've made my peace with that."

"I miss you."

"You should come visit. Seriously. Come for Thanksgiving."

Piper chuckled. "Oh yeah, can you imagine? She's already pissed with me because I let her down and didn't go to dinner with her and the Forsbergs on Saturday, she'd actually  _disown_  me if I told her I wasn't going home for Thanksgiving."

"It's not so bad, I survived it," Danny replied with the hint of a smile as well as sadness in his voice.

Piper smiled sadly. "I wish things were different too."

"The Forsbergs," he began, with forced brightness in his voice. "Are they the ones with the annoying but hot kid? What was his name? Matthew, Marky, something like that?"

"Matthias."

"Matthias! That's it. God, he was such an annoying little shit. Cute, incredible abs, but he knew it, which is considerably less attractive."

"Yeah, that's him. Polly tells me he has a tiny dick, too, so I don't think you particularly missed out."

Danny's laugh was deep and genuine. "Polly! How is she? Does she still have a potty mouth?"

"Like a sewer. She's good though, just about managing to keep me sane, you know how it is."

"So why did you bail on dinner?"

"Apart from the fact mom was trying to marry me off to Matthias?"

"Oh nice! She's still trying to plan your life for you, then?"

"Plan it? She's trying to run it, Dan."

"Hey at least she's still involved in it, kiddo."

"Mmm. Forgive me if sometimes I think you got the better deal." Piper replied with a wry smile.

Dan chuckled his agreement, but they both knew that the truth held no humour whatsoever. He'd had to move to the other side of the country to forge the kind of life for himself that he wanted and he'd had to do it on his own. His parents had ostracised him six years earlier, right about the time he finally plucked up the courage to tell them about Garett. He'd been with Garett since he was seventeen years old. He was twenty-four when he came out to his parents. He was now thirty, still with Garett, and still as in love with him as he had been on that day when he decided it was finally time to stop hiding.

"So why did you let her down? I thought I had the monopoly on that."

"I had a date," Piper grinned. "So Polly called her and told her I was sick and couldn't make it."

Dan laughed. "She's still covering for you, huh?"

"It's what best friends do!"

"Was it worth it?"

"Oh  _hell_  yes it was."

He laughed louder. "Okay, okay. Enough with the enthusiasm, I think I get the picture."

Piper grinned. "Sorry."

"Have you seen him again?"

"Who?"

"Your date!"

"Oh."  _Uncomfortable._  "Oh yeah, we uh, had dinner on Sunday."

"Cute. Are you seeing him again?"

Piper swallowed. It was meant to be easier than this. Of all people, surely Dan would get this. He'd understand. Why was it so difficult to just say it?

"Um, I hope so. We keep missing each other though, we haven't actually spoken since Monday morning. Voicemails and texts are where it's at."

"Monday morning huh?"

"Yeah."

"After dinner on Sunday night..."

" _Ah_."

Piper could hear the smile in her brother's voice as she realised what she'd just unwittingly admitted to.

"Garett!" he yelled, calling out to his boyfriend. "Gare! Piper got laid!"

"Oh my  _God_ , Daniel!" she exclaimed in horror.

Danny laughed and she closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against the cold window pane, listening as she was put on speaker and her big brother and his partner laughed together and poked fun at her. Jokes about nuns and celibacy and forgetting  _how to do it with another person present_  filtered down the line and for a moment, just a moment, Piper didn't feel every single one of the two and a half thousand miles that separated her from her brother.

When finally the laughter and gentle ribbing subsided, Piper spoke again.

"Danny," she said, her voice quiet. "I miss you so much, you know. Both of you."

"Oh we miss you too, honey," Garett replied.

"Sometimes I feel like everything would be easier if you were here."

Garett was about to reply, but Danny silenced him with a finger to his lips. There was something off here. Something in Piper's tone.

"Like what, kid?" his voice was soft and Piper recognised the change straight away.

She hesitated and pulled her lower lip between her teeth.

"Pipes?"

"My date."

"What about him?"

She took a deep breath, then screwed her eyes closed and let her next sentence out all on the one exhalation.

"It isn't a him it's a her and her name is Alex and she's so fucking awesome guys and she makes me feel so good and I think about her all the time and she's so smart and independent and funny and ohmygod she's so fucking  _hot_ I can't even tell you _."_

There was a delay before Danny spoke again. He was busy exchanging a high five and a knowing smile with Garett who looked like he was about to burst with excitement.

"And you're talking to me right now instead of her because…?"

"She's working."

Garett interrupted. "How hot exactly?"

Piper smiled. "Amazingly, Gare. Takes my breath away hot."

"You've had, what? Two dates?" Danny, pushing for specifics.

"Uh no. Technically four. No wait! Five."

"Since when?"

"Um, last Tuesday."

"A week."

"Uh huh." Piper chewed her lip anxiously.

"You've had  _five_  dates in a single week?"

"Mmm, yeah."

"Hold on, let me get this right..." Garett spoke again. "You've known her for a week, you've had five dates, you've become  _intimately acquainted_  with each other..."

"Nicely put, Gare," Danny interjected.

"Thanks babe," Garett smiled then continued "...and you've not yet hired a U-Haul and moved in with her? What kind of piss poor excuse for a lesbian are you?"

Piper started to laugh and felt all of her anxieties begin to dissolve.

They chatted for another ten minutes. Danny and Garett asking a multitude of questions, mining Piper for information about Alex, about herself, about how they met, about how their relationship was developing.

"So tell me again why you're talking to us and not to her?"

"She's working."

"In the bar she owns."

"Yeah."

"Which is about fifteen minutes away."

"Mmhmm."

"And you've been trying to speak to her since Monday, but keep missing each other."

"Yeah."

"So, you're just sitting there alone in your apartment."

"..."

"With the woman you can't stop thinking about fifteen minutes away."

"Oh."

"Yeah,  _oh_."

"I think I'm gonna go, guys."

"Attagirl," Garett piped up.

"Go get her, Pipes."

* * *

At nine forty-five Piper stepped out of the rain and in through the doors of  _Suave_. She'd dressed hurriedly after ending the call to Danny and Garett, changing from her pyjamas into a pair of faded jeans and a chunky sweater. She'd pulled on her coat and a dark blue beanie and hurried through the rain to the bar with her collar turned up against the wind.

She stood just inside the door and cast her eyes around the bar, searching for Alex. She spotted Nicky, but couldn't see Alex anywhere. With a frown she moved over to the bar and waited impatiently to catch Nicky's attention.

Nicky did a double-take before she recognised Piper, then gave her a wide smile when she realised who it was.

"Piper, hi! Well now, don't you just look the cutest in your little beanie," she started, smiling broadly.

"Is Alex here?" Piper cut to the chase, her eyes still darting around the bar, looking for the other woman.

"Yeah," Nicky began, glancing over her shoulder. "Yeah, she's here. She's..."

"Can I see her?"

Nicky's brow furrowed and she studied Piper carefully. "Is something going on?"

"No?"

"You sure? She's been short tempered and snarky all night. All day too, now that I think about it."

"There's nothing going on. Or at least, nothing to do with me."

"Maybe it's me. Wouldn't be the first time."

Piper didn't respond, she just looked around the bar again, her eyes searching desperately for Alex. Nicky watched her, then flipped up the hinged end of the counter. "Come on," she said and invited Piper behind the bar.

Piper followed and Nicky led her to the far end of the counter and before knocking twice on the door that was set into the wall.

She waited, her ear pressed against the wood, then knocked again.

Hearing no answer, she slowly pushed the door open a few inches and peered inside.

"Vause?" she said, tentatively.

"What?" Alex's voice was terse, abrupt. Piper chewed on her thumbnail as she waited behind Nicky, she'd never heard Alex's voice carry such a tone before.

"Delivery for you, Boss." Nicky pushed the door open further, then took a step to the side, allowing Piper to step forward.

Alex was seated behind a large double pedestal desk. Her head was resting on her closed fist and she seemed to be focused on a stack of papers in front of her. She pulled her glasses off angrily and tossed them onto the desk.

"The fuck, Nichols? You can't deal with a delivery?"

She whipped her head up to challenge Nicky but stopped short when she saw Piper standing in the open doorway.

"Not this one, Boss. No." Nicky replied, her voice softening as she took a step back and pulled the door closed behind her.

Alex pushed her chair back and stood, reaching for and replacing her glasses as she did so. She looked over at the woman standing in the doorway, still bundled up against the cold and rain outside.

"Piper?"

"Um, hi."

Alex frowned at the hesitancy in Piper's voice and slowly started to move toward her.

"Is this a bad time? If it's a bad time I can just..." she gestured over her shoulder with her thumb, half turning back to the door.

"No no no." Alex replied quickly. "No. No, come in. Please."

Piper glanced around the office, then looked up at Alex as she moved closer.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked, her voice soft.

"Yeah, I'm… mmhmm. Yep." Her gaze fell to the floor, unable to maintain eye contact with Alex.

"Jeez Pipes, you're  _soaked_." Alex said as she reached the other woman and saw the water dripping from the sleeves of her coat.

"It's, um, raining."

"No really?"

Piper looked up, catching the humour in Alex's tone. She smiled tentatively and was rewarded with a matching smile from the brunette.

"What's up, kid? What're you doing here?"

"Nothing. There's nothing wrong, I just..." she frowned, her words deserting her just when she needed them.

"Here, let's get you out of that coat." Alex started, filling the sudden silence and reaching for the buttons on Piper's wet jacket.

Piper stood still, allowing Alex to unfasten the buttons, studying her face in silence. Alex slipped the coat off and draped it over a chair, turning back just as Piper reached up to remove her hat. Alex's hand darted out and caught her forearm, stopping her.

"Not the beanie," she said, smiling. "You have no idea how cute you look in the beanie."

Piper ducked her head and smiled shyly. "I do. Nicky told me."

"See? I told you I'd have to watch her around you, didn't I. Proof right there."

Piper shook her head quickly, as if to dismiss any concerns Alex may have had.

"Come on, let me get you a drink. Warm you up."

Alex moved to a shelf to the right of her desk, reached up and brought down  _the good tequila_  and a couple of shot glasses. As she placed the glasses on her desk and started to open the bottle, Piper cleared her throat quietly behind her.

"Is that the best you've got?" her voice was quiet, uncertain.

Alex frowned in confusion and turned to look at her, raising the bottle slightly. "Three hundred a shot, Pipes."

Piper shook her head. "I didn't mean..."

She frowned and swallowed and then took a steadying breath before raising her eyes to meet Alex's again.

"What I meant," she started, taking a step closer to the other woman, "is, is that the best idea you have about how to warm me up?"

Alex's eyebrow shot up in surprise and her lips curved into a small smile. She placed the bottle back on the shelf and turned to Piper once more.

She looked so cute in her oversized, chunky sweater and her beanie and Alex couldn't help but smile when she looked at her. She reached out and caught one of Piper's hands with her own, the tips of her fingers hooking around Piper's and tugging her gently closer.

"What are you doing here Piper Chapman, other than looking completely adorable?" she murmured as Piper moved up close to her.

"I kept missing your calls," she said, looking down at their hands.

"Yeah," Alex murmured. "Started to think it was deliberate."

Piper's head jerked up quickly, her wide blue eyes meeting Alex's concerned green as she shook her head vigorously.

"No?" Alex murmured.

"God no." Piper replied. "I kept missing your calls and then, then tonight I realised it wasn't just your calls I was missing."

Her voice trailed off towards the end of her sentence and her eyes moved to focus on Alex's collarbone.

Alex wet her lips with her tongue. "No?" she repeated, her voice quiet.

Piper shook her head gently, still unable to meet Alex's eye as a wave of anxious uncertainty threatened to overwhelm her.

"What else?" Alex asked, keeping her voice soft.

She thought back to the conversation with Danny and Garett earlier, how blindingly obvious it had been to them, how they'd had to all but point it out to her. She thought back to Danny's words just before their call ended, how he'd told her to  _go get her, Pipes_  and she realised he was right. Realised this was the moment.

"Only everything about you," she murmured, her eyes finally lifting to meet Alex's.

She saw the spark in the other woman's eyes and the upward curve of her lips in the brief moment before Alex closed the gap between them and kissed her. One hand moved to cup Piper's jaw, the other held her hand a little tighter. She felt Alex's thumb stroke across her cheek as they kissed, soft and slow and tender.

When they pulled apart, Piper rested her forehead against Alex's shoulder as the taller woman wound her arms around her and hugged her gently.

"I'm so glad you're here," Alex whispered into Piper's beanie.

Piper smiled, then turned her head and kissed Alex's neck softly, letting her lips linger against her delicate skin.

There was nowhere else she'd rather be.

_**The End** _


End file.
